Always There
by Accidental Attention
Summary: RikuxSora In college, two distant guys collide and learn that to be together, there are sacrifices. As relationships come and go, Riku and Sora get closer and closer, for they complete one another. Also includes SquallxCloud and AxelxRoxas
1. Chapter 1: The Secret

**Always There  
**The Secret

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note.  
I do not own my close and personal friends that I have scattered throughout this fan fiction.  
I do, however, own myself, or well, a character based on myself. (Ashy Carter)

**Author's Note: **Rated mature to be safe as the story develops.  
This is my first fan fiction about anything, I hope you enjoy it!  
The story is basically a RikuxSora thing, so beware of Yaoi.  
The following is dedicated to my best friend in the world, April.

[Update 25 June 2012: I was taking some time to reread this so that I could further brainstorm the next long-awaited chapter and I realized how much writing has developed since the day I first began this fanfiction at the age of 14. I'm about to be 21 now. For those who are new, please bare with the first few chapters. In my opinion, it gets better in style. Thanks for reading!]

* * *

"Mommy!" exclaimed 11-year-old Sora as he burst through the kitchen doors.

Sora's mother, Seiya, put down her binoculars and immediately went back to cutting vegetables. Seiya examined her son's face. He looked petrified, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

"What's wrong?" Seiya questioned, worryingly.

"The man on the T.V. made me feel funny..." Sora cried out, almost in tears.

"What do you mean 'feel funny'?" the young boy's mother asked.

Sora blushed, trying to find the right words to describe the feeling. It was times like these he wished he had a father. Well, he **had **a father... until he was 2 months old and his father left for good. Sora looked back up at his mother, "Um... the man sort of made me get an... uhm... er..." he stuttered.

Seiya looked at her son, knowing exactly what he was trying to say. "I understand, Sora, don't worry so much about it."

Sora's frightened face slowly relaxed as he slightly smiled. "Thanks, Mom!"

Sora ran off, returning back into the other room and plopping himself in front of the television.

When Seiya was sure Sora was occupied with the television again, she picked her binoculars back up and raised them to her eyes. She knew she was spying, but she couldn't help it, the next-door neighbors led such interesting lives. Although the families had never met, Seiya knew a lot about them. From what they had most often for dinner, to what kinds of personalities they had, but most of all she knew that one member of the family was the most 'different' of all...

* * *

Riku sat in his living room, alone, and flipped through a magazine. It was one he had discovered underneath his grandmother's bed. Unlike most grandmothers, Riku's was energetic, exciting, and fun. She was also somewhat weird, but Riku loved her for it.

The magazine had helped Riku to find out he was not like the other 12-year-olds. Although, he had not gotten into the whole 'liking girls' thing, he knew he never would. He liked boys. No one knew this, not even his own grandmother, who did not even notice that her Macho Man magazine was missing. This was Riku's secret, one he was never going to reveal until he met the guy of his dreams.

Riku turned the page and stared in awe at the man posing on the page, he was nude, but a black, satin blanket covered his privates.

Click. The front door opened. "Riku! Help me with these bags!" shouted his grandmother.

Riku suddenly shut the magazine, his heart racing. "Um... coming grandma Rayne!" he said instantly, as he hid the magazine and pulled himself together. He ran to the door and took some of the grocery bags out of his grandmother's arms.

"Riku, is something wrong? You look...out of breath," inquired Rayne as she picked up the remaining two bags and followed Riku into the kitchen.

"Nothing is wrong with me, grandma," replied Riku, looking much calmer and like his usual self.

Rayne set down the bags and ruffled Riku's silver hair. "Must have just been me then," she remarked, smiling.

Riku helped Rayne finish putting away groceries, glad that he his grandmother did not interrogate him any longer. After all of the groceries were put away, Rayne decided to go take a nap, leaving Riku alone in the kitchen. Riku walked back into the other room and pulled the magazine out from underneath the couch. He walked downstairs and into his room in the basement, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

**7 Years Later...**

Eighteen-year-old Sora awoke with a start, and glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. "Seven forty-two! Shit, I'm going to be late..." mumbled Sora to himself. He scrambled out of his bed and ran into the bathroom, and jumped into the shower as he ripped off his clothes.

Within minutes, Sora was dressed and ready to go. His first class started at 8:30 A.M. sharp, being in college and all, he could **not** be late. Sora jumped onto his bike, his bag slung over the handle bars, and pedaled as fast as he could.

* * *

Riku parked his car in the campus parking lot and stepped out. He walked to the other side and opened the passenger door, letting his girlfriend, April Genden, out. April stepped out wearing a khaki mini-skirt and a cute red top, a khaki bag over her shoulder. She looked at Riku with her usual smile, and stood on her toes and gave Riku a peck on his cheek. Riku was a whole foot and three inches taller than April. Actually he was very tall in comparison to the other boys in their university.

Riku gave April his usual smirk as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked with her through the doors of the college building.

* * *

Sora stopped pedaling a few feet away from the bike racks. He was out of breath. He stepped off of the bike and pulled his bicycle lock out of his back, locking the bike in place onto the rack. Sora grabbed his bag from off of the bike handlebars and slung it over his right shoulder.

"Sora!"

Sora looked up to see his best friend, Kairi, running up to him.

"Sora! You're about to be late," said Kairi, grabbing Sora's arm and starting to pull Sora into the building.

"Kairi, I know I'm late, thanks, but you can stop dragging me around like a stuffed bear!" whined Sora.

"If I didn't drag you around, you'd be late everyday," argued Kairi.

Sora knew she was right, but wouldn't admit it.

Kairi and Sora made it into their first class just as the bell rang.

* * *

Riku sat in his first class, April in the seat beside him.

"Riku, you seem tense," acknowledged April. She moved up a step on the elevated seats and sat down in the seat behind Riku. April placed her hands upon Riku's shoulders and gently began to soothe and relax him.

"Mmh..."

As soon as the clock ticked on the hour, Professor Lieberman immediately looked up from his work and began the class.

"Good morrow, young scholars," he pronounced in his clear, British accent. He glanced silently upon each and everyone of his students as he checked the class roster.

"Miss Genden! This is an advanced, English literature classroom, not the day spa across town!" He declared, his voice echoing throughout the classroom.

April's cheeks flushed bright red as she quickly took her hands off from Riku's suddenly, stiff shoulders.

Slowly the minutes crept by.

_Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Briiiing_! thought Riku to himself as the Professor dismissed the class. He had always preferred the dismissal systems in high school. The bells always signaled for him to wake up and change classes. Now he always had to pay attention to know when this would be, especially since it varied from class to class, day after day.

"Finally!" muttered Riku to himself as he stood up and gathered his things to leave.

* * *

Sora picked up his books and exited the history room. Kairi left as well. Sora and Kairi did not share their next class together. Sora's next class was in Agrabah Hall, the English department as it was more commonly referred to. Sora headed to the building and went inside. His classroom was on the second floor.

As Sora walked upstairs, he tripped on one of the steps. Sora's books flew up in the air as he fell forward, expecting to land on the stairs. Instead, he landed on something soft and... warm. The warm, soft something was Riku. His hands to be exact.

"Thanks," said Sora as he straightened himself and then got down to pick up his fallen books.

"No problem, " Riku replied in return in his deep voice.

Riku got down on one knee and helped Sora pick up his books.

"Thanks, " said Sora as he stood back up to his full height.

"Mhm..."

Riku stood as well, a remarkable sight before him. The person he had just assisted had the most dazzling eyes. A bright shade of blue looked back at him.

"Well, thanks again," with that, Sora continued up the stairs and into his English class.

Riku stood still for a moment, then suddenly was snapped back into reality by a call from his best friend.

"Ay, Riku!" proclaimed Squall Leonhart, better known as Leon, from the other side of the hallway. Normally he would not have shouted to get Riku's attention, but seeing as how his best friend was dazed off in Rikuland, he had to get Riku to notice that he was going to be late, somehow.

Leon stood in front of the doors leading outside of the English building waiting for Riku to join him to walk over to one of the science buildings.

Riku walked over to Leon and accompanied him out of the building just before Leon was about to call for him for a third time.

* * *

Sora slumped down in his seat. He was bored.

"Hey, Sora, is it?" said someone from behind him.

Sora turned around in his seat and answered, "Yes?"

"Could I borrow a pen? Mine ran out of ink," asked the dark blonde haired girl.

"Yeah, sure," replied Sora as he reached into his bag and pulled out a black ink pen, handing it to the girl.

"Thanks. Oh, and your name **is** Sora, right?" the girl questioned, fiddling with the pen in her hand.

"Yes, it is," Sora stated.

"Okay, thanks again, Sora. Oh and by the way, my name is April," April pronounced with a smile.

"You're welcome, April," replied Sora, turning back around in his seat.

"Miss Genden! Please pay attention, no talking!" stressed Professor Ula.

April closed her mouth suddenly and looked down, her face redder than ever. That was the second time today.

Later on in the class, a note was passed carefully along to April, from the foreign student, her best friend, Ashy Carter. She opened up the note and saw a funny cartoon drawing of Professor Ula saying 'Miss Genden!' The drawing was a bit detailed and she happened to notice that on the desk drawn behind him, the name plate read, 'Professor Spat Ula'. April could not help but grin.

* * *

Riku could not stop thinking about the blue-eyed brunette who had bumped into him in the hallway.

All these years, Riku had known that he was different. He knew he was not like the other men around him. He knew he was gay.

Ever since he had first laid his eyes on the cover of his grandmother's magazine, he knew he liked boys. Sure he currently had a **girl**friend, but she was just a part of his act. He had seen so many guys he liked in the last seven years, but had never had the courage to venture out and actually date one. In fact, he had never even had the courage to tell anyone of his secret.

Riku started to doodle on his notebook. He did not realize it for a while, but he was drawing the boy from earlier. He traced his fingers over the hair of the drawing, which sent a chill up his spine.

"Hey, Riku, what's that you're drawing?" mocked Leon from the seat next to him.

Riku's attention suddenly darted back to the classroom as he flipped his notebook over. "Nothing," he blurted out. He realized that the students in the class were now just talking and were just discussing something the professor had prompted them to do until he decided to dismiss them. The class would end soon.

"That wasn't 'nothing'," Leon said casually, air quoting the last word.

"Whatever, _Squall_," said Riku in his usual tone.

Leon smirked and then turned to talk with someone else, letting Riku be.

* * *

Professor Ula dismissed the class a little early and Sora stood up and left. It was time for him to take a lunch break.

Sora walked to the university's outdoor food court. The crowd was much smaller here and Sora did not feel like getting on his bike at this time when the roads were the busiest.

Sora got in one of the small lines and mentally decided what he wanted to eat. His favorite place on campus was the Heartland Ribs mini-restaurant. As messy as the food could be sometimes, he always enjoyed the taste and satisfaction he received from eating there. He also had a thing one of the cashiers, Michael. Although no one knew Sora wasn't straight and Sora always acted straight around everyone beyond Kairi and his mother who both knew his secret, he always had a hard time ignoring a boy he thought was cute. He always found himself acted oddly around the boys and in this case, he always found himself going to get food at the Heartland just so he could see Michael.

As always, Michael greeted Sora with a "How can I help you satisfy your appetite?"

_Love me,_ thought Sora to himself finding himself blushing at such a crazy idea. "Can I have the number two rib special?" he answered as he usually did.

"Coming right up, sir!" Michael answered cheerfully as he picked up a plate and filled it with the food that came with the special. "Six forty-two."

Sora paid for his food and went to get a table. As always, he wished he had more courage to actually talk to Michael beyond placing his order at Heartland._  
_

* * *

Riku walked out to the outdoor cafeteria and found his lunch awaiting him in his usual seat. April looked up from her book, smiling. April often went ahead and got Riku's lunch for him if she finished with her class early. She knew what Riku liked and the silver-haired man along with his stomach were always thankful for her thoughtfulness.

"Thanks," Riku said gratefully.

"Glad to do it," April replied.

Riku sat down and quietly began to eat.

"Is something wrong?" April inquired, noticing the unusual silence.

_Wrong? Why would something be wrong when everything was just so right._ The boy from earlier had yet to leave Riku's usually absent mind.

"Wrong? No, I'm fine," Riku remarked, choosing his words carefully and keeping his eyes on his lunch.

April did not believe him, but decided to let him be.

* * *

Sora sighed and set down his fork. Kairi glanced up at him from her lunch. Sora and Kairi were sitting at their usual table near an oak tree near the outdoor food court.

"Something wrong?" she questioned.

"Mmph..." replied Sora, taking a bite of his apple.

"Well?"

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong," Sora answered abruptly.

"But-"

"Nothing."

Sora ended the conversation, just like that. He had left Kairi speechless and after she finished eating and she told Sora that she was going to go spend the rest of her lunch break in the library. Kairi wasn't mad at Sora, she just preferred to let him deal with himself when he decided not to speak to her.

Sora had lied to Kairi. Deep down inside, he felt empty. Something big seemed to be missing from him. It was as though a chunk of his heart was missing and he desperately desired something to fill that space.

* * *

Riku stood up to go throw his lunch away. As he walked across the outdoor cafeteria, he noticed someone sitting alone at one of the tables. This certain someone happened to have brown hair. Could it be? The boy that Riku had been practically lusting for since he had bumped into him in the building earlier that day.

Riku stopped in his tracks. Why wouldn't his feet move? Before he knew it, he was standing right behind Sora.

Sora saw a long shadow appear over his lunch tray and turned his head to see who it was.

"Why, hello again," said Sora, surprisingly calmer than ever in front of a boy as handsome as Riku was.

"Um..." Riku stammered before he cleared his throat and replied, "Sorry, hello."

Sora gave Riku a smile. My, this was starting to get awkward.

Riku's heart almost melted at Sora's radiant smile.

"So, um... ?" Sora started, breaking the uncomfortable silence between them, "Do you need something?"

_Only you. _Riku almost blurted out, but tried to remain as casual as he could be. "No, I just stopped to say uhm... hi. Well, I'll go now, nice talking to you," Riku said quickly, leaving right after.

Sora just smiled a little bit confused and returned to his lunch.

_Stupid. Stupid! How could you be such a dunce?_ Riku's mind was shouting and lecturing him as he returned to his table.

"Riku?" April asked, looking at Riku's odd expression.

Riku snapped his attention back to the real world. "Hm?"

"I thought you went to go throw your lunch tray away," she stated.

"I did, yes," Riku replied, wondering what April's point was.

"Then why is your lunch tray back here again?" April suddenly grinned.

"Oh?" Riku looked down and sure enough, there was his lunch tray, back in front of him. "Oh!" he exclaimed. In the midst of seeing the boy from earlier again, he had totally forgotten why he had been up in the first place.

"I guess I got distracted," Riku said in his usual voice. April nearly melted as usual, how could she hate him with a sexy voice like that?

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Well there you have it, the first installment of "Always There". I hope you enjoyed it! In the next chapter I am looking to finally have Riku and Sora learn each other's names, after all, the relationship wouldn't work as well otherwise.

And now... LitaStarr Productions in association with GendenCo. would like to present for your entertainment...  
Satoshi Hiwatari dancing to the hit song, 'Drop It Like It's Hot'!

-Music begins-

Satoshi: Is that what I think it is? Say it isn't so! I must... I must...

-Jumps onto dance floor-

Satoshi: _Drop it like it's hot... Drop it like it's hot..._


	2. Chapter 2: The Invitation

**Always There  
**The Invitation

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note.  
I do not own my close and personal friends that I have scattered throughout this fan fiction.  
I do, however, own myself, or well, a character based on myself. (Ashy Carter)

**Author's Note: **Rated mature to be safe as the story develops.  
I know this chapter is a lot shorter than my first one, but it is meant to just move things along. I hope you enjoy it!  
Read and review!

* * *

Sora's next class seemed to speed by. Before he knew it, Sora was walking into his final class for the day, chemistry.

"Hey Sora!" called Kairi, only to be interrupted by April Genden, who called out Sora's name as well and immediately began walking up to him.

"Just a minute, Kairi. What is it, April?" Sora said, knowing that Kairi would not mind waiting a while.

"Well, you see, I'm having this party at my house this weekend, my parents are not going to be home... anyway," started April, "I was wondering if you could come, it's a pool party by the way."

A party? Why was April inviting him of all people? She barely knew him.

"Hmm, I don't know..."

"Oh, please? Could you come? I'm inviting all of my friends and some of my classmates as well. You seem really nice, so could you come?" April begged, batting her eyelashes in her irresistable way.

"Well... okay. Sure, I'll be there," replied Sora.

"Yay!" April cheered with glee.

The professor walked into the room and Sora took his seat.

"What was her problem?" Kairi questioned, raising a brow.

"She just invited me to a party is all," Sora remarked.

"Oh, she invited me earlier, but I told her I couldn't go, because I have to go to my grandmother's this weekend," Kairi added in.

The class began and before Sora knew it, his college day was over.

* * *

Riku headed out of the university campus and towards the parking lot to his car.

"Kairi! Where are you taking me?" came a voice from the east side of the area.

"Home, get your bike, I'm driving," came a girl's voice in response.

"Uh, oh..." the first voice said, sounding scared.

Riku turned to see the brunette that he had fallen for earlier, being dragged across the parking lot by a very fiesty redhead.

Riku felt a sudden warm feeling inside him. Was this brown-haired, blue-eyed boy, what he had been searching for all these years?

No, he couldn't be. Riku did not even know whether the boy was even gay. Heck, he didn't even know his name.

Riku's thoughts were interrupted by a hug from behind. "Hey, darling," April said in a cool tone.

"Hey," responded Riku, abruptly.

April released her arms from around Riku's waist and walked over to his car with him.

* * *

"Kairi! Slow down!" shouted Sora from the passenger seat of Kairi's mother's car.

"Why? I'm not going over the speed limit," giggled Kairi, continuing to drive on.

"Yet!" exclaimed Sora, his heart racing.

This was the first time Kairi had ever driven Sora anywhere. Sure, she was his best friend and had had her license for nearly seven months now, but Sora was still clutching onto his seatbelt as if he was about to fall off of a high cliff.

The car stopped. Sora gasped for air.

"We're here!" yipped Kairi.

"Finally! Home, sweet, home!" Sora cried out dramatically as he pushed open the car door and landed gently on the pavement. He bent over and started to pretend to kiss the pavement.

"You have got to be kidding me, Sora," Kairi remarked, sarcastically.

"Hallelujah!" exclaimed Sora although he wasn't truly very religious at all.

Seiya walked outside to see what the commotion was all about.

"What in the world is wrong with my son?" Seiya asked aloud.

"Besides the usual? Well, I drove Sora home today and he's just being a major drama queen about it," replied Kairi.

"Drama queen, me? No way!" Sora added in with sarcasm, clutching his chest.

Kairi just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Riku got home after dropping April off at her house. He let himself in and called "Grandma, I'm home!"

"Riku, honey, welcome home. Did you have a good day?" asked Rayne.

"Fine, everything was fine," he said casually. "I'm going to go down to my room, I feel kind of tired."

"Okay, I'll call you up for dinner."

Riku forced himself downstairs and into his room. He lay back on top of his bed and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Sora! Dinner's ready!" called Seiya from downstairs.

Sora ran downstairs, almost floating, the scent of his mother's cooking was hypnotizing his senses.

Sora plopped into a chair opposite his mother and immediately dug into his dinner.

"My, my, you sure are hungry tonight," stated Seiya.

"Mmhmm..."

"I think the lack of a boyfriend is making you hungrier by the day." Seiya smirked as Sora spit his water out and began coughing as he gasped for air.

"Mom!" exclaimed Sora as he wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve.

"After all, it's been, what, **seven years** since you realized you liked boys," Seiya continued, the smirk on her face never leaving her lips.

"Mom!" Sora's face turned multiple shades of crimson. _Just kill me now, God._

Sora tried to go back to his dinner as his mother continued on about Sora's need of a boyfriend. He was very glad that Kairi wasn't there as well, the two of them would be twice as bad.

Seiya and Kairi were the only ones who knew Sora's deepest, darkest secret. All these years of his life had passed. Sora had never even been on a date before. Sure, there were some boyhood crushes he would not have minded to get to know better, but it had never happened.

Sora finished the rest of his meal in silence. Seiya had stopped talking after she realized that Sora was not listening to a word of what she had been saying.

After dinner, Sora headed back upstairs and into his room.

* * *

Riku was awoken by his grandmother's call for dinner. He headed upstairs and took his plate of food from his grandmother.

"Do you mind if I eat in my room?" questioned Riku. "I have some homework I need to finish."

"Well... fine, go on."

Rayne settled herself on the couch in front of the television. "I guess I'm having dinner and a movie alone tonight." she said, flipping through channels.

Riku leaned over and kissed his grandmother on her cheek, "Thanks," he added in.

Riku headed back downstairs and put his plate on his desk. He then proceeded to pull out his yearbook from the past year. He had lied to Rayne, he did not have any homework to complete. He just wanted to do some research.

As he flipped through his yearbook, Riku realized how much he missed being at the top. His senior year in High School was the best time of his life. Now that he was a freshman in college, it was like starting all over again. Riku smiled as he passed pictures of his friends from high school, Cloud, Yuffie, and Sephiroth. Leon was there as well, and happened to be the only close friend, besides April, who had stayed with him going into college. The others were all at different universities, pursuing their lives.

_Please be here_, begged Riku's mind. _Yes! _Riku's eyes brightened, cascading in the light as he flipped the page to see the mystery boy from earlier.

Riku could feel his heart begin to race as he gently slid a finger along the picture of the boy. He took careful notice of the boy's name.

Sora. What a nice name.

Riku's heart began to beat even quicker. The boy was gorgeous.

Dee-do-dee.

Riku threw the yearbook up into the air, the ring of his own cellphone startling him. He groped his pockets for his phone and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Riku, hey, what's up?"

It was April. Riku had completely forgotten about her for he had been thinking about Sora the whole time.

"... Riku?" interrupted April.

"Sorry, I was chewing a bite of my dinner," Riku said, a pathetic excuse.

"Ah, okay. Well, I just called to see what you were up to," she said innocently.

"I'm just eating and doing some... homework," replied Riku, trying to sound as casual and normal as he could.

"Okay... I guess I'll leave you be. Love you," said April, not hanging up.

"Bye," Riku said, ending the conversation as he flipped his phone closed.

* * *

The next day went by quickly. Riku had unfortunately not bumped into or seen Sora.

Before Sora knew it, it was Friday. The week had sped by and nothing of true significance had really occurred in Sora's mind.

Sora sighed deeply. The health movie they were currently watching in his chemistry class was boring him to sleep.

Sora looked over at Kairi. "Are you as bored as I am?" he whispered.

No response came from his best friend.

"Kairi?" Sora asked as he reached over and touched her shoulder.

"Hm?" Kairi looked up at Sora, taking one of her headphone pieces out of her ear.

Sora grinned. Kairi apparently was bored, too, and had been listening to her iPod the whole time.

"Nothing, nevermind," said Sora.

* * *

Riku stood up to leave his last class as his professor dismissed the class. Riku's college courses for the day were over.

"Riku?" questioned April from behind him.

Riku turned to give her his full attention.

"Don't forget about my pool party this weekend," she said as she stepped forward and gave Riku a peck on his cheek. April was wearing high heeled boots today, and she did not need to get on her toes.

"Of course I won't," Riku smirked as April pecked his cheek and turned to leave.

* * *

**Authors Note:** And that ends Chapter 2 of Always There. I hope you enjoyed it!

A preview of things to come:  
April's pool party will take place during the next chapter, obviously.  
Riku and Sora will finally learn one another's names with a formal introduction.  
Riku will show off. -hot flash-  
And much, much more!

Reviews are loved, thanks!


	3. Chapter 3: The Party

**Always There  
**The Party

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note.  
I do not own my close and personal friends that I have scattered throughout this fan fiction.  
I do, however, own myself, or well, a character based on myself. (Ashy Carter)  
April owns Aaron Vandermast.

**Author's Note: **Rated mature to be safe as the story develops.  
This chapter is about the party (not as if the title tells you that) that April is having. Look forward to Riku in his swimtrunks, Sora and Riku finally being formally introduced, and much, much more! I hope you like it!

* * *

"Stop touching my melons, Riku! They're for the guests!" April argued with Riku, who had been trying to get a watermelon slice.

"And what am I? Apparently not a guest, right?" Riku snapped back.

April froze, speechless.

"I'm sorry. I'm just really in the mood for a watermelon," Riku joked, apologizing.

"Fine, take one slice, and I mean ONE!" April gave in, watching as Riku picked up the entire platter and walked to the other side of April's backyard.

The pool glistened beneath the hot sun as people slowly began to fill up April's backyard. In the midst of all the excitement, Sora walked through the back gate and walked over to where April stood. Riku was back with April now. April had her arms wrapped around her boyfriend's slender waist.

Sora gently tapped April's bare shoulder. April unwrapped her arms from around Riku's waist and turned around.

"Hi, Sora!" she said with a cheery smile.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late, my bike got a flat," Sora replied, apologetically.

"No problem. Hey, Sora, I'd like you to meet someone," April added in.

"Oh?"

"Sora, this is my boyfriend, Riku," April introduced.

Riku turned around, revealing himself. He stood, looking down at Sora, who was wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of swim trunks that matched his amazing eyes.

"Pleased to meet you, again," Sora declared, politely extending a hand.

Riku slowly stretched his own hand out and shook Sora's. "The pleasure is all mine," Riku said, trying not to sound as odd as he did the other day.

"Wait. You two know each other?" April interrupted.

"Yeah. Your boyfriend saved me from slamming my face into the stairs the other day," Sora remarked.

"Ah, weird how things turn out, right?" April casually acknowledged. "Well, you two can chat while I go and talk with some of the others," said April, leaving.

Sora stood still for a moment, "So, how are you?"

"Fine, I suppose," Riku replied, although he was more busy watching how gallant Sora looked underneath the blazing sun. Riku especially enjoyed how ravishing Sora looked in his white t-shirt and blue swim trunks.

"Well, I guess I'll take a swim in the pool now, since it's less crowded at this moment," Sora said as he walked towards the shimmering pool and pulled his shirt off.

Riku had to use all of his strength to prevent his mouth from gaping open. Sora looked even more gorgeous, topless. Riku could only dream of how amazing Sora may look without any clothes on.

Sora swam around for a while before settling himself in one corner of the pool.

Even though Riku could not stop himself from staring at Sora, he still had the energy to show-off to everyone. Riku walked over and onto the diving board. He jumped off, landing with a splash as he began to swim around. The party guests formed a circle around and in the pool, as they cheered and whistled at Riku. After a while, Riku stopped and got out of the pool, his hair clinging to his face and neck and his body dripping from head to toe.

April handed Riku a towel and clapped. "You and your shows," she smirked.

"You know you love them," Riku protested.

"You know what else I love?" questioned April.

Riku had a strong feeling what she was about to say, but decided to just shrug his shoulders.

"You... and those ginormous Hershey kisses they sell at the candy shop," April replied, wrapping her arms around Riku, who now had a towel wrapped over his shoulders.

"Me too..." Riku said, returning her embrace.

"Beautiful... just, oh!" Leon inquired, pretending to dry up fake tears.

Riku broke apart from April and ruffled Leon's wet hair. "I'll get you for that!"

Riku began chasing Leon around the pool. "Hey, man! I was just kidding," Leon shouted.

"I know, but I'm going to get you anyway!" Riku called back, a devilish grin appearing on his face.

Riku continued to chase Leon around. Suddenly, Riku accidentally slipped on some water and fell face first into the pool.

**Splash!**

Leon stopped dead in his tracks and looked into the pool. He watched as Riku gained control and surfaced. "You little rat!" exclaimed Riku.

Sora gazed ahead and saw Riku splash into the pool. He watched as Riku swam back up and shouted something out at the guy who stood outside of the pool. The other guy was now sticking his tongue out at Riku in a childish manner.

Sora laughed aloud, but stopped short when he heard something crying from a distance.

Sora got out of the pool and walked over to the crying girl.

"April, we broke up!" said a girl in tears.

"No, but you guys... why?" replied April, trying to comfort her friend.

The girl that was crying was Janet Fraiser. Sora had English with her and knew that she had been dating one of the hottest guys in the freshman class, Aaron Vandermast.

"Thanks for inviting me and all, but I'm going to go now..." Janet said, as April gave her a comforting hug. Janet left right after the hug and shortly after, Aaron left as well, not speaking a word to anyone.

Riku got out of the pool. Leon and Riku had stopped goofing off. Leon walked off to go flirt with Ashy Carter.

"Wow..." gasped Riku.

Sora was drying his hair with a towel.

_Sora looks so hot... all wet and..._ Riku stopped. He had almost caused himself to run into a drink table.

"Hey, Riku? Do you know where my shirt is? I threw it over there when I was getting into the pool... Riku?" Sora asked.

Riku blinked. _What did he just say? I'd better make-up something._ Riku, who had been too busy staring at Sora's bare chest, blurted out, "Do you need something?"

Sora blinked, confused. "Um... yeah, I just asked you something... are you okay?"

Riku had done it again. Once again he had made a fool of himself. "I'm fine..." Riku answered._ I'd be better if you were mine right now..._

"So, have you seen my shirt?" Sora asked again.

_Shirt? I think you look better without it... _"Shirt? No. I haven't seen it," Riku replied, honestly.

"Okay, well, tell April I left," Sora said.

"Wait. You're leaving?" Riku asked, upset. _No! Don't leave..._

"Yeah, I've got to go do some chores and junk at home," Sora remarked. "If you do happen to find my shirt, just call me or bring it over to my house. April has my phone number and address."

_That's it? The key into his house is a white t-shirt? Man, I wonder how easy it would be for me to lose my virginity to him... Wait. Did I just think that? _"Sure, will do," Riku blurted out. "Bye."

"Yeah, see you around," Sora called, leaving and deciding to just go home without his shirt on. It was a rather warm day anyway and it was quite normal for men to be walking around shirtless on days such as this.

After Sora left, Riku decided to jump into the pool. He had a lot of things to swim off.

* * *

Sora put his bike in his garage and walked into the house.

"Hey, Mom! I'm home!"

"Hey, Honey. How was the party?" Seiya asked casually as she walked up the stairs with a pile of folded laundry in her arms.

"The party was fun," Sora replied, following his mother up the stairs.

"Good," Seiya said, now in Sora's room.

"Mhm..." Sora said, grabbing some clean clothes out of his closet and putting them on.

"Meet any cute boys?" Seiya asked, grinning.

"Mom..." whined Sora.

* * *

Riku picked up a paper cup and tossed it into the black plastic bag that was hanging off of the patio wall. The party had ended minutes ago and now, Riku was helping April clean up. As he bent down to pick up a half eaten slice of watermelon, Riku noticed something white sticking out from underneath one of the beach chairs. Riku walked over to the chair and picked up the white item.

_Yes!_ The item was Sora's t-shirt. Riku held it up to his face, breathing in the sweet scent of fresh air and fruit.

"Riku!" yelled April.

Riku dropped the shirt and spun around, "Yes?"

"I think we're done," she said, staring curiously at the shirt that Riku just dropped. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Riku replied, acting clueless.

"That. The shirt," April remarked, ignoring Riku's pathetic attempt to act clueless.

"Oh, this?" Riku laughed, picking up the shirt. "This is Sora's shirt. He was looking for it before he left."

"I see," April said.

"I'll take it to him tomorrow for you," Riku said, hoping she agreed. _Please say okay, please!_

"Okay, thanks!" April said, receiving a grin from Riku.

"Well, I'm going to head home," Riku excused himself, turning to leave. "Wait. What is Sora's phone number? He said you had it."

"Yeah, I do. Let me go find my guest list, it's on there," April replied, heading into her house to get the list.

* * *

Sora slid the vacuum cleaner into his living room and danced around with it. Seiya walked in and began to laugh at her son's unusual cleaning method. Sora did not realize that his mother was watching him until his saw a flash.

"Mom!" screamed Sora, turning off the vacuum.

"I couldn't resist, dear," Seiya said, putting away the camera she had gotten out.

"Gosh, why couldn't I have a normal mother?" Sora asked aloud.

"Because then you wouldn't be vacuuming now. You would be cooking dinner, doing dishes, cleaning your room, ironing shirts, and while all that is going on, you would be receiving a stern lecture from your 'normal' mother. Now if you would like me to be 'normal', I can start in five minutes," Seiya said, jokingly.

"Mom, you know what I mean!" Sora argued as he put away the vacuum cleaner.

"I know, I was just saying," Seiya remarked, ruffling Sora's hair.

Sora rolled his eyes and when his mother finished messing up his already bizarre hair, he went off to his room.

* * *

Riku leaned back on his bed. He had Sora's phone number tightly grasped in his hand.

Riku knew that he had to call to get Sora's address so he could drop the shirt off. _Why am I falling for this boy? I have a great girl. Sure, I'm gay, but I don't even know if Sora is..._

At that moment, Riku knew what he had to do. He had to find out whether Sora was gay, or in the least bisexual. _But how?_

The first step was obviously to return the shirt. Riku picked up his cellphone. With a shaky hand he dialed in Sora's phone number.

Riiing. Pause. Riiing. Pause. Rii-

"Hello?" Seiya answered.

"I-is. Ahem. Is Sora there?" Riku said, trying not to sound so timid.

"Yes. I'll put him on, just a minute," Seiya replied.

Riku's heart was racing now.

After what felt like an eternity later, "Hello?" came Sora's voice, finally.

"Um, hey. This is Riku. I found your shirt," Riku said, trying to sound casual and relaxed.

"Really? Great," Sora said. Riku could practically see him smiling over the phone.

"Yeah, I'll bring it to you tomorrow, what's your address?"

"543 Traverse Street," Sora recited easily from memory.

"Okay, thanks. Bye," Riku said, writing down the address and closing his phone.

_543 Traverse Street?_ Something had suddenly clicked in his mind._ No way. The guy that might be the love of my life has been living next door to me the whole time?_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, that was Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it. I, myself, enjoyed writing this chapter, the fact that Riku seems to be learning so much more about Sora. Don't worry all you Sora lovers, next chapter, there will be a lot more Sora. Thanks, please leave a review.

**And now LitaStarr Productions is proud to present a GendenCo original...enjoy!**

This is actually two parodies written by April, that I have combined, and yes, I have her permission to use them.

**Kid-** Let's call you-know-who! Let's say his name three times and he'll appear!  
**Other Kid-** Okay!  
**Together-** Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetl-  
**Sora- **NO! It's like THIS: April's-Melon-Juice! April's-Melon-Juice! APRIL'S-MELON-JUICE!

-April's melons appear-

**Kids- -**eyes widen- WHOA! These are BIG melons!  
**Sora-** -proud grin- YEP!  
**Kid 1-** Can I touch the melons?  
**Sora-** Of course! Touch them all you want! Take a bite of them... too! Inside are delicious juices you boys can't HELP but love!  
**Kid 2-** YAY!  
**Riku-** Oh god! Sora! Not April's melons!  
**Sora-** -dives head first with mouth open into April's melons-  
**April-** What are you doing! No! My big, juicy...  
**Sora-** -bites into melon-  
**April- **How dare you! -screams- Before anyone else could try my delicious melons! You... you...  
**Riku-** April.  
**April-** -looks up- Yes, baby?  
**Riku-** I'm leaving you.  
**April-** How long till you'll be back?  
**Riku-** No, I'm breaking up with you.  
**April-** What!  
**Riku- **There is someone else.  
**April-** WHO!  
**Riku-** -points to Sora, who has a face full of April's sticky melon juice-  
**Sora-** -blinks-  
**April-** WUTOMG?  
**Riku-** Bye. -takes Sora's wrist and starts to walk off with him-  
**Sora-** -slaps April before getting too far-  
**Riku-** Oh yeah! Slap that bi-  
**Sora-** Riku. Warning.  
**Riku- -**rolls eyes- Who are you? My grandmother?  
**Sora-** -grins and nods-  
**Riku-** -laughs- My grandmother cleans up better than that.

And that concludes a GendenCo original! April and I hope you enjoyed it.

Read and review!


	4. Chapter 4: The Encounter

**Always There  
**The Encounter

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts...etc. You know the deal.

**Author's Note: **Rated mature to be safe as the story develops.  
I am sorry for the delayed update, I've been too lazy to type this chapter up. I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks so much for all of the reviews!

* * *

"Sora!"

Sora was awoken by his mother's call. He looked over at his clock and saw that it was only nine o' clock. _Nine o' clock... on a Saturday!_

Sora rolled over and pulled his blanket up over his head.

Downstairs, Seiya sighed, holding the door open.

"My son is such a sleepy-head. Do you mind going upstairs to his room and waking him up?"

Riku stood on the steps outside, holding Sora's t-shirt in one of his hands.

"Um, sure? Why not?" Riku replied.

"Up the stairs, second door, thanks," Seiya said, smiling at him.

"Sure." Riku was led into the house and towards the stairs as Seiya closed the door.

"Wait," Seiya started. Riku immediately stopped.

"Yes?"

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Seiya questioned.

"You just di- sure," Riku replied.

Seiya looked carefully at Riku. She studied his form, noticing his eyes and other features.

"Are you gay?" Seiya asked, the calm expression on her face remaining.

"W-what?" Riku managed to stammer out.

"I'm sorry. Did you misunderstand?"

"N-no... I'm just surprised by your question," Riku said, shocked.

"Well, I'll ask again, maybe you won't be so shocked the second time," Seiya remarked casually. "Are you gay?"

"Um... wel-"

"You are, aren't you?" Seiya remarked suddenly grinning.

"I have a girlfriend," Riku suddenly blurted out.

"Liar, she's probably just there to fool everyone, right?" Seiya interrogated.

Riku looked down. "Yes..."

"Hmm, so you're gay... and my son is gay."

"Sora is gay!" Riku said, looking up suddenly. His heart was doing backflips now.

"Yes. He is. He's never had a date with a guy before though, actually, he's never dated anyone," stated Seiya.

"Nor have I," Riku interrupted.

"Well, you'd better head upstairs and wake Sora," Seiya said. "Oh, and take your time..." Seiya winked at Riku and walked off.

Riku stood still for a moment, then he started to make his way to the stairs.

* * *

Sora continued to sleep peacefully. His mother hadn't called him again, so he figured she probably did not need him.

"Sora?"

"Mhm... it's Saturday, Mom..." Sora whined, more than half-asleep.

"Sora?" Riku tried again.

_That voice is too deep to be my mom... and yet, why is it so oddly familiar? _"Mmh..." Sora groaned as he pulled his blanket more over his head.

"Sora, wake up," Riku said, his voice almost cracking. He did enjoy how Sora's chest slowly rose and fell from underneath the blanket.

Sora pulled the blanket down from his face and forced an eye open. _R-Riku? What's he doing here? _Sora's eyes were both open now, staring up at Riku.

"What do you want?" Sora interrogated, sounding grouchy.

_You. Of course... now._ "Um... I have your shirt," Riku said, somewhat spastically.

"Throw it over there, thanks," Sora mumbled, turning back around and closing his eyes.

"Uh-huh... okay," Riku said, doing as Sora said.

After tossing the shirt, Riku just stood and watched Sora.

Sora could feel someone still watching him. He turned back around and opened his eyes. "May I help you?"

"Well... no," Riku said.

Sora shrugged his shoulders and stared at Riku. _Why is he still here?_

"Actually, Sora, I do want something..." Riku began, taking a deep breath. He decided it was time to let Sora know how he felt.

"And what, may I ask, is that?" Sora asked, raising a brow.

Riku got down on his knees, leveling with Sora's bed. "Well..."

"Well?" Sora questioned, tired of waiting for a response. Actually, Sora just wanted some more sleep.

Riku's face inched closer to Sora's. "I want..."

"You want...?"

Riku's nose was almost touching Sora's now. "You." Riku pressed his lips against Sora's soft lucious ones.

Sora closed his eyes, his lips responding to Riku's. After all these years, Sora had never been kissed like this. His only other non-relative kiss was when he was 14 and had been in a game of spin-the-bottle. It was nothing compared to this.

Riku slowly made his way onto Sora's bed, slipping his tongue into the younger boy's warm mouth.

Sora continued to respond. He had no idea he was capable of this, but did not care, he liked it.

Riku was almost ontop of Sora's warm body now.

Sora suddenly pulled back after feeling something hard against his side. Sora stared at Riku, his eyes wide in astonishment.

"What just happened?" Sora forced out.

Riku stayed quiet, not knowing what to say in response to Sora's outburst.

_Why did I respond? I don't like him... or do I? No, he has a girlfriend... but wait, then why did he kiss me?_ Sora's confused mind pounded him with questions.

"I'm sorry," Riku finally managed to say. His manhood was returning back to normal. Riku was somewhat in a sort of shock over what just happened. It was as if he had been longing for that one kiss for years.

"W-what?" Sora questioned, snapping his attention back to the silver-haired boy that was... on his bed!

"I'm sorry."

"I heard you the first time. I just wanted to know why you were apologizing," Sora said, sitting up in his bed. Sora's hair was more ruffled than ever before.

"Why shouldn't I apologize?" Riku began, getting off of the younger boy's bed. "After all, you didn't want me to do that. I'm a stranger to you, after all."

Sora stared in astonishment at the older boy before him. Moments ago, he had just kissed him... and he thinks he liked it. Did Sora like it? Wait. Riku was a guy! A very handsome guy... hold on, where did that come from?

Riku began to head toward Sora's door.

"Wait..." Sora called, just before Riku left his room.

Riku turned around and fixed his gaze upon Sora, giving him his full attention.

"... er, nevermind. Thanks for dropping off my shirt," Sora ended, abruptly.

Riku exited silently, Sora's last words haunting his mind. He was still in a state of bewilderment over what had just happened. Why did he do it? Why did he kiss the innocent boy? And most of all, why did the younger boy respond? Did Sora want that just as bad as he did?

* * *

Sora slowly got out of his bed and dragged himself into the bathroom. Moments later, he was out, showered, and dressed. The encounter with the older boy lingered deep inside his mind.

Seiya watched as Sora slid his feet down the stairs. "What's got you down?" Seiya asked.

"M-me? Oh. Nothing," Sora fibbed, not daring to look up at his mother.

"Don't lie to me, what's wrong?" Seiya questioned again, getting somewhat impatient with her son. She knew it must have had something to do with Riku. The silver-haired boy had left earlier without speaking a word.

Sora could not tell his mother the truth, but he could not continue lying to her either. His tone of voice always seemed to give away his lies. Curse his mother's instinct.

Seiya continued to wait for Sora's response. After a few minutes of silence, she decided to say something. "Did Riku say something to you?"

"R-Riku? No, um... I mean yes, he came to return my shirt," Sora said, not a complete lie.

"And?"

"And what? That's it..."

"Did he kiss you?" Seiya said, straight forward.

_Did he kiss me? You bet he did... _"Um... what makes you ask that?" Sora questioned, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Well, nothing really. Just the fact that both you and Riku happen to be gay," Seiya stated.

"How did you know that Riku was gay?" Sora asked, startled by his mother's words.

"He told me."

Sora could not believe what he was hearing. Why did his mom always have to know everything? "Mom..." Sora started, sounding somewhat pissed off.

"Sora, he lives right next door. Go talk to him," Seiya said, this time sounding more like a mother than a sarcastic friend.

"Next door! B-but... when did that happen?" Sora screamed.

"Since before you were born, Sora, Riku and his grandmother have always lived there," Seiya confronted her son.

"How is it that YOU know all this? Did Riku tell you this too?" Sora shouted, he could not take anymore of this.

"No. He didn't," Seiya said, carefully, noticing her only son was fuming now.

Sora stomped to the door and grabbed his coat. "I'll be gone for a while," Sora said, stepping outside and slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Riku winced, hearing something slam in the distance. He peeked out of his small basement window and saw someone's feet stomping across the neighbor's yard. It was Sora, making his way across his own front yard and onto the street.

_Where is he going? I wonder what happened..._

Riku decided to stay where he was. He did not want to risk making his relationship with Sora any worse.

Dee do dee.

Riku's phone rang from inside his pocket. He ignored it and decided to let his voice mail answer it.

Dee do dee.

The phone continued to ring, and Riku continued to ignore it.

* * *

Sora walked about town, passing shops and people. He was looking down, he did not feel like catching anyone's attention.

"Excuse me?" came a voice. Sora gazed up and found himself face to face with Squall Leonhart.

"Hey, were you at that party yesterday? Sora, is it?" Leon asked.

"Leon, come on! We're going to miss the start of the film!" Ashy Carter complained, tugging gently at Leon's shirt.

"Movie," Leon corrected. "Hold on just a minute."

Ashy sighed and waited. Leon turned back to Sora. "I'm Leon."

Sora nodded and watched as Ashy dragged Leon away. "See you around!" Leon called.

Sora continued down the street and entered a coffee shop.

* * *

Riku sighed and decided to call Leon. He needed to talk to someone. As he dug in his pants for his phone, he realized it was missing. But wait, someone had just called him earlier. Where did his phone go?

Riku walked out of his room and up the stairs. "Grandma? Have you seen my phone... I just had it."

No response came from his call.

"Grandma?" Riku tried again as he walked into the living room. His grandmother was sitting on the couch, and she did not look too happy.

"Grandma, what's wro-"

"Where did you get this?" Rayne asked, startling Riku with her tone. She held up a magazine. It was an old looking magazine and was called Macho Men.

Riku's eyes widened as he looked at the familiar magazine.

"And don't you dare tell me that it doesn't belong to you. I found it in your room while I was cleaning," Rayne remarked.

"Grandma..." Riku started, a look of fear in his eyes.

"What!" snapped Rayne.

"I'm gay."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, theres chapter four for you all. I hope you liked it. Cliffhangers, dontcha' just love em'? Please leave a review!

And now...another GendenCo original!

**Sora- **What are you doing now?  
**Riku-** Groping and feeling you in places you've never been touched before.  
**Sora-** Wha...what! -blush-  
**Riku-** Yeah. You're a **man** now, Sora.  
**Sora-** D: I don't wanna be a man yet!  
**Riku-** But I want you to be.  
**Sora-** ...-pout-...


	5. Chapter 5: The Unexpected Date

**Always There  
**The Unexpected Date

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note. You know the deal.

**Author's Note: **Rated Mature to be safe as the story develops.  
Okay, so I got a new computer! Sorry for the long delay, I have had a lot going on. My school year is almost over and I plan on writing more. Before the chapter begins, let me just say, I changed my plans. The chapter seemed to be droning on and I decided to take my original idea for this chapter, and break it up into two chapters. So this chapter might have an ending similar to the last one. You know what that means...  
Read and Review!

* * *

"What?" Rayne asked, her angered expression softening.

"I'm gay."

Rayne stared at Riku, then stood up and walked over to him. Riku's eyes widened. What was his grandmother going to do to him? Rayne hugged Riku tightly.

"My baby! It's about time!" she proclaimed, very enthusiastic.

"Wait... what?" Riku asked, confused.

"Who finally changed you? Have you dump- told April yet?" Rayne questioned. She was ecstatic.

"Grandma, calm down," Riku finally said.

* * *

Sora walked out of the coffee shop. He decided to head home. As he walked down the crowded streets of Destiny Island, thoughts of Riku began to fill his mind. His mother's words seemed to echo inside of him. Why did his mother know more about Riku than he did?

Sora unlocked the front door to his house and walked inside. Although he had just had a few doughnuts at the coffee shop, he still felt hungry. Sora walked into the kitchen and saw his mother looking out the window. He ignored it and headed towards the fridge. About halfway, Sora stopped.

"Mom? Why in the world is there a pair of binocula-. Wait. That's why you know so much about Riku!" Sora could not believe that his mother had been spying on Riku all this time.

Seiya, alarmed by Sora's voice and sudden conclusion, turned around suddenly. "Sora... its not what you th-"

"Why, Mom? Why?" Sora asked.

Seiya was speechless.

Sora took a deep breath and looked his mother in the eye. "Look. We can forget all about this, just promise me you won't ever spy on the neighbors again."

Seiya sighed, relieved that her son was willing to let it go. "I promise."

"Good. Now what are we having for dinner?"

* * *

"Seven years?" Rayne exclaimed. "You've known for seven years and never told me?"

"Yeah," Riku said. He had just spent the last hour telling his grandmother about how he was gay.

"Does anyone else know?" Rayne asked, curious.

"Well... you see..." Riku began. He continued on and told Rayne about the past week and Sora.

"So, you have a lover boy?" Rayne joked, causing Riku to blush. "Well, I'm really happy for you, Riku."

Riku smiled at his grandmother as she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Grandma... can't breathe," Riku gasped.

The rest of the day passed by in peace. Riku closed his eyes at midnight, thoughts of Sora caused him to sleep pleasantly. Riku knew what he had to do this week.

* * *

"... so anyway, how was your weekend?" April finished after telling Riku about her own weekend.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Riku lied.

"Well, I'll see you later," April said, blowing him a kiss and turning the corner and heading towards her first class of the week.

Riku continued down the noisy hallway and into his advanced calculus room. He disliked math and was glad he only had three math classes a week.

"Students, today we are going to stu-"

Knock-knock.

Sora, somewhat nervous, slowly walked into the calculus room. "Mrs.- I mean, Professor Kravitz?"

"Ah, you must be the advanced student," Professor Kravitz remarked.

Sora handed her a slip of paper. Professor Kravitz looked over it and began, "Students, this is Sora. He is joining us from the calculus class, he has been moved up," she said, smiling at Sora.

Sora blushed, quietly walked over to a vacant seat, and sat down.

As Professor Kravitz began the day's lesson, Riku's mind drifted off as usual. This time he had a new focus, Sora.

Riku realized that it was going to be twice as hard for him to avoid Sora, now that they shared a class.

_Riku, you know you can't have him... But I want him... No! You can't, Riku... Riku? Riku!_

"Wha-?"

"Nice of you to join us," Professor Kravitz remarked, in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry, what was the question?" Riku answered, embarrassed.

A roar of laughter filled the classroom. "Settle down, students! As I was saying, tomorrow's test counts two times more than usual," Professor Kravitz began, receiving groans and sighs from her students.

"Be sure to study! You're dismissed," Professor Kravitz finished, quickly.

Sora gathered up his books slowly, waiting until everyone had left. Little did he know, Riku was hiding underneath a desk, watching him.

"Professor Kravitz?" Sora began, timidly.

Professor Kravitz raised her head to look at Sora, "Yes?"

"I was wondering, do I have to take the test?" Sora asked.

Professor Kravitz folded her hands together. "Well, I'll give you a choice."

Sora nodded and waited for her to finish.

"You can either take it, or not take it. If you do decide to take the test, I'll only count it once and count the next test twice," Professor Kravitz finished.

"I'll take it," Sora decided.

"Ow!"

Sora and Professor Kravitz turned suddenly to see Riku, who was now rubbing his head.

Riku looked up, his eyes widening. "I... forgot one of my books..."

Professor Kravitz raised a brow.

"I got it now... so I guess I'll leave, heh," Riku ended, speeding out of the room.

* * *

After finishing his conversation with Professor Kravitz, Sora headed off and to his second class.

"Sora!" called April. "Come sit here!" she exclaimed, gesturing at the empty seat next to her.

Sora shrugged and walked over to the vacant seat.

April smiled at Sora and then turned to face the front. She did not want to get in trouble like last week.

"Mr. Leonhart, would you care to explain last night's reading assignment?" Professor Xaldin asked, beginning class.

Sora sat back and began writing down notes as usual.

* * *

_"Sora... Sora... So-rah. Come closer, Sora..."_

_It was a cool evening, though the weather didn't matter. Riku inhaled deeply, breathing in Sora's sweet scent._

_"Mmh, Riku..." sighed Sora._

_Riku enjoyed the feeling of Sora's warm, bare chest against his own._

_"Sora...Sora..."_

_"Sora?" gasped Riku._

_"What did you just call me?" came a different voice._

_"Wha-!" exclaimed Riku._

"I said, what did you just call me?" Aaron Vandermast asked, puzzled.

Riku blinked, he had been daydreaming. Class was over and everyone had left.

"Sorry, I must have dazed off. Thanks for..."

"Waking you? No problem," Aaron finished, gathering his books and heading out the door.

Riku watched Aaron leave and proceeded in getting his own books and leaving as well.

* * *

Sora walked down the hall and out the front door. He was engrossed in a book and was not paying attention to his surroundings. It was his lunch break and Sora decided to eat outside the university grounds.

With his nose in his book, Sora walked to the parking lot.

"Watch out!"

"Wha?" Sora gasped, jerking his head up. The next thing he knew, he was on his back, in front of the bike racks.

Sora looked up, catching his breath. Riku sat on the ground next to him, rubbing at his hands.

"Riku... th-thanks," Sora said gratefully. as he sat up.

"You should really watch where you're going, you could've been kil-"

"Riku. I know. Thanks for saving my life," Sora assured Riku, getting up.

Riku stayed where he was, watching Sora unlock his bike. "Sora, stop."

Sora turned and looked down at Riku.

"Look," Riku started, getting off of the ground, "I'm sorry for acting so rude. How about I take you to lunch, in my car."

Sora froze. Did Riku just ask him out? _No, its not a date... its just a lunch... besides, his girlfriend will probably be there. _Sora took a deep breath, "Fine, sure." Sora bent down to lock his bike, grabbing his bag off of the handlebars in the process.

"Really? Uh-okay, let's go," Riku said, surprised that Sora had agreed to the invitation.

Moments later, Sora and Riku were getting into Riku's car. Sora sat in the backseat, waiting for Riku to start the car.

"What are you doing back there?" Riku said, after seeing Sora through his rearview mirror.

Sora rolled his eyes, "I'm sitting, what does it look like?"

Riku ignored Sora's sarcasm, "Come sit up here, next to me."

Sighing, Sora stepped out of the car, closing the backseat door behind him. He then proceeded to open the door to the passenger seat and sat down. Sora scooted close to the door and put on his seatbelt.

Riku had a feeling why Sora was acting so distant. The encounter from the previous day flashed before his eyes.

"So, where's April?"

"Huh? Oh..." Riku said, snapping back into the present. "April? She's having lunch with her friends Ashy Carter and Janet Fraiser."

_Uh-oh. That means I'm having lunch alone with RIKU! And... he likes me._

Riku parked his car in front of a sub shop, undid his seat belt, and took the key out of the ignition.

Sora followed in suit, silently opening the car door and stepping out of the car.

They both walked inside the sub shop and waited in the short line. Soon they were at the front.

"Hello, may I take your order?" asked the girl behind the counter whose nametag clearly displayed her name as Erina.

Riku gave his order and paid for his food, as did Sora. They took their lunch trays and sat down at a table, across from each other. Sora unwrapped his sandwich and began to eat quietly.

Riku did not realize it, but he was watching Sora. His surroundings seemed a blur and Sora was his only focus.

After twenty minutes, Sora stood up to throw his lunch away. Riku had barely touched his food. Sora sat back down and waited for Riku to finish eating. It was then he noticed that Riku's eyes were dazed off. He looked as if he were sleeping with his eyes open. Sora decided to make sure he was okay.

"Riku... ?" Sora started.

Riku blinked, "... Sora, we'd better head back to the university."

"But you've barely eaten..."

"I wasn't really hungry," Riku fibbed, getting up out of his seat.

Sora followed him out the door and to his car. Riku stopped and spun around. Sora almost bumping into him.

"When's your next class?" Riku interrogated.

"I've only got one more today. Four-thirty, why?" Sora exasperated with a sigh.

"Lucky bas- okay, come on," Riku remarked.

A while later, they had returned to the campus grounds.

Sora got out of the car after thanking Riku for the ride. Riku just nodded and got out as well.

_Sora, why must you do this to my heart?_

* * *

Hours later, Sora returned home. He had no more classes for the day.

"Sora, Kairi called. She's coming over," Seiya informed Sora.

"Tell her to come up to my room, I've got homework," Sora replied.

Sora ran upstairs to his room and threw his bag onto his bed.

* * *

Riku walked through the parking lot.

"Riku! Wait up!"

Riku continued walking.

April ran up to Riku. "Hey, I told you to wait up for me."

As if April was not there, Riku kept on walking.

"Riku!" April shouted, placing her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder and turning him to face her. "What's your problem?"

Riku just blinked at her, he did not have a clue about what she had been saying. Actually, he did not even know April was talking to him in the first place.

"Sorry, April, I was distracted," Riku said, coolly.

April's questioning expression softened and she gave Riku a kiss. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Riku said casually, though his heart felt otherwise.

"Alright then."

April followed Riku to his car and Riku drove her home.

* * *

"... and he just ignored me!" Kairi was telling Sora about her day. Sora nodded and continued to listen to her attentively, he was also doing homework.

"Sora, can I ask you something?" began Kairi.

Without looking up, Sora mumbled, "Shoot."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Kairi questioned, curiously.

Sora stopped writing and looked up, "You know I don't."

"I know a lot of things, but I think you have a boyfriend, or at least you've been dating someone," Kairi remarked.

Sora raised his brow, then something hit him, "Have you been talking to my mom?"

"Wait, what? Don't bring your mother into this! Besides, what does she have anything to do with whether or not you have a boyfr- Seiya!" Kairi shouted.

Sora's mother ran into the room. "What!" Seiya gasped, catching her breath.

"Does Sora have a boyfriend?" Kairi interrogated.

Seiya looked from her son to Kairi, "Well..."

"Mom! No," Sora pleaded.

"So I was right, you do have a boyfriend!" Kairi concluded.

"No, I don't!" Sora proclaimed.

"He's telling the truth," Seiya said, backing up Sora's words. "He doesn't have a boyfriend..."

"Told you so," Sora said.

"I wasn't finished," Seiya interrupted. "He doesn't have a boyfriend, but, there is a guy who has a crush on him."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yup, another cliffhanger. I warned you. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this installment of "Always There." Reviews are loved!

And now...another GendenCo Original!

**Satoshi-** When the pimps in de' crib, man  
**Riku-** Drop it like it's  
**Satoshi-** hot!  
**Riku-** Drop it like it's  
**Together-** hot!


	6. Chapter 6: The Tutor

**Always There  
**The Tutor

******Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note. You know the deal.

**Author's Note: **Well, I apologize for the late chapter, what with my school year ending; I haven't had the most time in the world to write. Thankfully I ended school days ago, so now its summer break and I have plenty of time to write. Notice how I say that and end up putting the next chapter up after a longer period of time. Again, I'm sorry about that. Anyway, in this chapter, some more of the characters from Kingdom Hearts II are introduced, as well as some interesting plot lines and more problems as usual. I know, I know, you don't really care much about what I have to say and just want to get on with the story, so here goes, chapter six of "Always There." Enjoy! Read and review! The following chapter is dedicated to April, my best friend and the person who edits my chapters, thanks and happy birthday!

* * *

Kairi's mouth opened wide in excitement. "Oh, oh! Is it that silver-haired boy Sora went to lunch with today?"

"What!" Seiya and Sora said at the same time.

"Yeah, um... I think his name is Axel?"

"Riku," Sora and Seiya recited together.

"His name is Riku," Sora pronounced.

"You guys went on a date?" Seiya burst out.

Sora glared at Kairi, "No. He just took me to eat lunch. It wasn't a date; we paid for our own food. It was NOT a date!"

Sora took a deep breath and jerked his head back down to his homework.

"I'd better go," Kairi whispered, not wanting to toy with Sora's temper.

Kairi left, leaving Seiya to deal with her angered son. Seiya sat down on Sora's bed.

"Sora," began Seiya.

"Mom. Look, I'm sick of this. Sick of you always trying to set me up with some guy. Sick of how you continuously intrude in my life. Sick of..."

"Sora, calm down, everything will be alri-"

"Alright? Alright! Mom, if I continue to live here, my life will just get worse! Look, I'm eighteen years old! I don't need you butting into my life..." Sora let out.

"Then what do you want me to do?" Seiya asked.

Sora opened his mouth as if to say something but paused. He thought to himself, _What do I want her to do? I could always... no, she probably wouldn't let me... but... she might have to... _"Mom, I wanna move out," Sora blurted out.

"Move out?" Seiya asked as if she had not heard her son clearly, her eyes widening.

Sora nodded. "I think that's the only way I can get some privacy."

Seiya took a deep breath. "Honey, you don't have a job, how will you eat?"

Sora blinked, he had not thought that far ahead. "I guess I'll get a job. I mean, I make straight As, it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Seiya smiled, "Okay, we'll go to the administrator's office in the morning."

Sora nodded as his mother stood up and left his room.

* * *

"Look, I need to talk to you... no..." Riku let out a groan of frustration. He was standing in front of his mirror, practicing. For over an hour now, Riku had been trying to figure out how to approach Sora. So far, he had nothing.

Dee do dee.

In search for his phone, Riku patted his pants. It was missing. Riku frantically began to search throughout his room, throwing things over his shoulder. "Aha!" Riku exclaimed, flipping his previously absent cell phone open. "Riku's phone."

April, who was about to put down her phone, raised her phone back up to her ear, "Riku? Where were you?"

"Couldn't find my phone, long story. What's up?"

April took a deep breath, "Riku, I need to talk to you, mind if I come over?"

"Uhm, sure," Riku answered, wondering what was up.

About ten minutes later, April was in Riku's room.

"Sit down," Riku said.

April took a seat in a nearby chair and watched as Riku sat down on his bed.

"So, what's up?" Riku questioned.

April sat silently, looking around Riku's room. She was stalling.

"April... is something wrong?" Riku asked after several moments had passed.

April looked down. "Riku, I think we should break up," she whispered.

Riku raised a brow, "You think we should what? Speak up."

"Look, I really do like you, but lately you've been really distant. I think we should spend more time apart," April stated slowly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Riku began, "but, I hope we can still be friends." Riku stood up and walked over to April.

April looked up, confused, "You aren't upset?"

"Well..." Riku started sheepishly.

April suddenly stood up, "So I suppose I did the right thing!"

"April, I didn't mean it like that... it's just that... well," Riku attempted to defend himself.

"Well what? I meant nothing to you? Is that it?" April interrogated.

"April."

"What?" April said with a sigh.

"I need to confess..." Riku began. He told April that he was gay, receiving a shocked expression. When he finished, he noticed that his former girlfriend was in a fit of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Riku questioned, startled by April's response.

"So you've know you're gay for all these years and you still went out with me? Riku, I'm flattered," April said, still giggling.

Riku stepped back, still confused about what April found to be so humorous.

"Sorry, I just think that the fact that you've been keeping that a secret for so long is funny. Why is it that you've to decided to tell me now?" April asked, her laughter gone. Her eyes suddenly widened, "You have a boyfriend, don't you? No, you wouldn't have cheated on me..."

At the last statement, Riku raised a brow.

After seeing Riku's reaction, April's expression changed from a look of epiphany, to one of disgust. "You cheated on me? You... of all people, cheated on me!"

Riku grabbed April by her shoulders, holding her down, "Look, I didn't cheat on you, chill out. I would have never betrayed you like that, no matter how hot I may be for guys."

April, now relieved, looked into Riku's eyes. "So why the sudden change?"

Riku let go of April, unsure of what to tell her.

"Riku... do you have a crush on someone?" April asked, wanting to know more about Riku's sudden change.

After moments of silence, Riku finally answered, "I suppose I do."

At that moment, April let out a squeal of excitement causing Riku to jump back.

"Are you okay?" Riku asked, wondering what was wrong with the girl.

April, who was now grinning from ear to ear, replied, "I'm fine. I'm just so happy for you! Who are you crushing on?"

"Whoa, slow down. You sure got over me fast..." Riku said, jokingly.

Riku began telling April all about his feelings for Sora. He knew she could help him and at this point he needed a lot of help.

* * *

7:28 A.M. the next day.

"So, I was thinking a small dorm really, but if you don't have one like that, I wouldn't mind having a roommate."

Sora and Seiya were talking with the dorm adviser. Sora had just gotten through explaining about what kind of dorm he was looking for, since he had to choose between a single room, double room, and something more deluxe.

"Well, we have a double room with one current vacancy. So you would already have a roommate," the dorm adviser stated.

"That sounds fine to me, what do you think, Mom?" Sora asked.

Seiya looked over the papers and looked back up at Sora, "Whatever makes you happy."

"Well I like it," Sora remarked. "When do I move in?"

"Well as soon as you like. I'll need a deposit payment though, but we can do all of that in a moment. Congratulations, you have a dorm, though I do advise you to apply at the beginning of the term next time." the dorm adviser said, standing up and shaking hands with Sora and his mother.

"Thank you so much. Mom, I've got to get to advanced calculus. I've got a test in there today. See you later, thanks," Sora told his mother, giving her a quick hug and leaving the office.

* * *

About seven minutes later, Sora arrived in the large calculus room. He still had a few minutes until the class began, so he sat down and went over the notes from the previous day.

Finally, class started, "Students, good morning. I hope you all had a good night's rest and are prepared for this test," Professor Kravitz greeted. She began placing tests on the student's desks and the students immediately began working.

_Test? Oh shit. I totally forgot about that. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ Riku nervously began attempting to work his test, hoping something from the past lessons would click in his mind.

Eventually students began finishing the test. Riku was among the first to finish, mainly because he had skipped and guessed on a lot of the questions. Sora was one of the last ones to finish.

As the class time ended, students stood up and began vacating the classroom. "Riku, can I speak with you for a moment?" Professor Kravitz said, stopping Riku before he left after finishing the post exam assignment.

"Yes, Professor?" Riku asked, wondering why he had been asked to be spoken to.

"I started grading the tests as they were being turned in, and since you were one of the first, I completed grading yours. Riku, have you ever considered a tutor? Lately it seems as if you've been a little off in your work," Professor Kravitz stated. "I know it's unlike a person like me to care for a student but I really dislike seeing any of my students fail, even if it is a college. I know you are much more committed than your grades are showing so I'm offering this to you."

"A tutor? No, I've never really even thought about getting one," Riku answered truthfully.

"I think you should get one, it would really help you get back up to your usual mark."

Riku thought about it for a moment and decided that he should get a tutor. What would it hurt? "Alright, I guess I'll get a tutor."

"Great. I'll arrange for one to meet you at your house tonight at around... five-thirty good?" Professor Kravitz answered.

"That's fine, thanks." Riku replied before he left the classroom and headed off to his next class. Tuesday was his easiest day of the week. He only had three classes that day.

* * *

"You got a dorm?" Kairi questioned Sora. "But, why? You've got Seiya who like does EVERYTHING for you, why would you want to leave all of that?"

"That's exactly why I do. My mom."

"Oh." Kairi said, taking the hint. "So, I'll see you later." Kairi walked off towards the library.

Sora walked into the art room and grabbed a smock, putting it on as he walked over to his seat. The Art Professor began class and gave the students their assignment. They were to make a sculpture based on something in their lives.

Sora got a ball of plain, beige colored clay and began to mold it. He decided to let his hands work freely and hoped something would come out of it. His hands pulled and slapped at the clay, creating something that looked to be a bed. About half an hour later, he had crafted a bed with a form lying on top of it. As the minutes flew by, Sora ended up molding himself lying on the bed, a strange expression on the clay form's face.

After a while, the class ended. Sora exited the classroom after covering his mold and putting it in the cupboard to dry.

"Hey, Sora!" a female's voice called from behind.

Sora turned around to see April Genden walking up to him.

"Hey, April."

"Hi, uhm, I want to talk to you about something, do you have a moment?" the fair, blonde girl questioned.

"Sure, I was just heading to lunch, but I'm not in any rush to eat, what's up?"

"Well, yesterday... Riku and I broke up," April said looking down at her feet. April had told Riku that she would help him with Sora. This was her first attempt.

"Oh?" Sora said, his voice unchanging.

"Yeah... but we're both fine with it. Sora, the truth is, I think he likes another girl. Could you find out who it is for me? I mean, he would never tell me," April declared.

"Me? Look, I don't know..." Sora started.

"Please? For me?"

Sora sighed, "Oh, alright. I'll try and find out for you."

April's face lit up with joy as she gave him a quick hug and thanked him for agreeing to do the favor for her. After that, Sora went off to the school food court to grab something quick to eat. He wanted to go home for the remainder of his free time to begin packing for his new dorm. He was also excited about finding out who his roommate was going to be.

Moments after eating a short and quick meal, Sora headed out to the parking lot and towards the bike racks. He unchained his bike and got on, strapping on his helmet and starting to bike home.

* * *

Riku tapped April's shoulder in the science classroom. April turned around, giving her ex-boyfriend a questionable look.

"Did you talk to Sora?" Riku whispered.

April nodded receiving a gesture from Riku telling her to tell him what happened.

"Let me just put it this way, he'll be all over you before you know it," April said with a smirk.

Riku smirked, he liked the idea of Sora all over him. He liked it a lot.

The Professor stood up, "Whenever you have finished the assignment, just hand it in up here and you are free to go."

At that last statement, Riku began working faster. He wanted to go out and do some things before his tutor came over. Riku was almost done with his work now, but he paused to write a quick note. He tapped April's shoulder and when she turned a little, he waved the note in front of her face.

April took the note and opened it, the note read: 'Could you find out what kind of guy Sora likes? Also, what his favorite food is?' April turned around and nodded at Riku.

Riku mouthed a 'thanks' and made a mental note to be sure to get something for April for helping him out. He quickly finished his work and turned it in on the Professor's desk.

* * *

Sora unlocked the front door to his house and stepped inside. "Mom?" he called out.

No response. Sora walked upstairs and into his room. Short stacks of plain brown boxes were against his walls. All of them were labeled with things such as, 'clothes' and 'books'. Sora's mother was sleeping peacefully on top of his bed. Sora slowly crept over to his bed and bent over to give his mother a light kiss on her cheek. "Thanks, Mom."

Seiya stirred and opened her eyes, "No problem, Sora."

"I've got one hour until my next class, could you drive this stuff to my dorm?" Sora asked, standing up straight and walking over to one of the many stacks of boxes.

"Of course, help me load these boxes into my car," Seiya said, standing up and lifting one of the boxes. Sora followed in suit and about twenty minutes later, all of the boxes had been loaded into Seiya's SUV. Sora got into his mother's car and they set off to the college campus and to Sora's dorm.

When they got to the dorms, Seiya parked her car and as Sora undid his seat belt, she said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the dorm adviser gave me your key." Seiya handed Sora his key and the got out of the car.

"Thanks again. Now we just have to unload this stuff and put it in the dorm room. I'll worry about the unpacking part later," Sora proclaimed as he opened the car's trunk and picked up one of the boxes.

"Okay honey... good luck with everything," Seiya said, sounding a little choked up.

Sora put down the box and gave his mother a hug. "Mom...I'm not leaving forever. I'll come and visit, I promise, and I'll come over for dinner often, you can count on it."

Seiya smiled, "I'm going to miss having you around all the time, but I'm glad you're happy. That's all that matters."

Eventually Sora and Seiya had unloaded the car and all of the boxes were now sitting in the living room of Sora's dorm. Sora had just enough time to make to his next class before it had begun.

* * *

Riku was back at his home now. It was 4:45 P.M. and Riku had just ran some errands, taken a shower, and was now deciding on what to wear.

"Hmm... I wonder if Sora likes guys dressed in leather..." he wondered aloud. He ended up choosing a form fitting blue shirt and some tight leather pants to go with it. Unlike most guys, Riku felt comfortable in this apparel.

The phone rang. Riku ran upstairs to answer it. His grandmother wasn't home, she had left for the day to stay at one of her friend's houses. "Hello?" Riku answered.

"Riku? This is Professor Kravitz."

"Hello, Professor, do you need something?" Riku asked.

"Well, yes and no. See, your tutor is moving into a dorm today and was wondering if you could come to his dorm since he can't leave at the moment."

"What's the dorm number? I'll be there," Riku replied.

Professor Kravitz proceeded with the details and Riku wrote everything down on a notepad. "Okay, got it, thanks," Riku said, finishing the phone conversation and hearing the click at the other end of the line. He hung up the phone and headed outside to his car.

* * *

Click.

Sora looked up from where he was sitting to see someone walk in through the front door of his dorm.

"Hey, you must be my roommate? Pleased to meet you, I'm Sora," Sora greeted, standing up and introducing himself.

Sora's roommate was a tall redheaded guy with clear green eyes and impeccably interesting, seemingly permanent markings underneath his eyes. His roommate surveyed Sora for a moment with a smirk.

"Name's Axel," he said. Axel walked over to where Sora was standing and took a closer look at him.

"Again, nice to meet you," Sora said.

The taller man edged even closer to the brunette. "Take a seat, please."

Sora sat down on the couch and watched as Axel said down in the seat next to him. "Let's chat, shall we?" Axel said, still examining Sora as if he were a new species.

Sora nodded and decided that now was as good as any other time to get to know his roommate.

"My rules for this dorm are simple. We wash our own laundry and dishes, sound fair enough? And we try to stay out of each other's lives." Axel refrained from going into any more detail about the dorm rules, though the smirk that had met his lips before speaking remained.

"Sounds fair," Sora said.

Axel leaned forward and added in, "Oh, and has anyone ever told you that you look so hot when you're all attentive like that." As Sora blushed, Axel brushed his lips against his. "Nice to meet you."

Sora remained quiet, not knowing what to say. His face was redder than ever.

Axel stood up and stretched his arms. "Well, I'm going out tonight with my boyfriend, so I'm going to go take a shower, feel free to join me if you like," he said with a wink, leaving Sora more speechless than ever.

Sora suddenly managed to say something, "So... you're gay?"

Axel stopped, spun around and grinned at Sora. "I prefer the term homosexual, but if that's what you want to call it, yes. You are too, right? Because if you aren't, I promise to make sure that changes," Axel remarked. After that, Axel went off into the bathroom, leaving Sora silent on the couch.

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang. Sora got up to answer it. Behind the door stood Riku in all his glory. Sora's eyes widened. "Riku?"

Riku was just as shocked as Sora was. "You're my tutor?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Well, I guess I am. For calculus, right?" Sora replied.

"Yeah..." Riku managed to say, though he had almost gotten lost in Sora's sparkling eyes of blue.

"Well then, let me just move some of this stuff out of the way and we can begin," Sora said, moving some of the remaining boxes into the corner as Riku walked inside the dorm room and sat down on the couch. This was going to be one interesting tutoring session.

* * *

**Author's Note:** There you have it, another installment of 'Always There', I hope you enjoyed it. As I said at the beginning, this chapter was dedicated to the real April, my best friend. Again, Happy Birthday!  
Oh and also a big thanks to all of the people who have reviewed my fan fiction so far, the following is for you!

And now, another GendenCo original!

**Riku:** -pulls Satoshi's arm to show him the author's note reviews- Hey, man, we're famous!  
**Satoshi:** ... -struggles not to sing- Drop... it... like it's...  
**Riku:** HOT!  
**Amy:** -shock- No way... they... and then...  
**April:** -tear- Reviewers! You meanies! Riku leave ME for Sora! This story is about ME! Not them...  
**Sora:** Can I have a melon? I heard yours were still juicy!  
**April:** Hmph. No. -sigh-

Reviews are loved! If you would like to leave April a comment, please feel free to comment the user, Ouin, I'm sure she'll appreciate it. Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7: The Young and the Restless

**Always There  
**The Young and the Restless

**********Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the things advertised/used in this fan fiction, or anything in the after note. You know the deal.

**Author's Note: **Now before you begin reading this installment of Always There let me just say thanks again for all of the reviews.  
This chapter is another one of those transition chapters just to help move things along and possibly clear up any questions you may have. I hope you enjoy it and please leave a review!

* * *

"So that's all there is to it?" Riku asked, writing down the answer to an equation.

"That's it, FAA' di Bruno's formula," Sora responded, watching as Riku finished the problem and used the formula correctly.

When Riku finished the next few problems, he looked up at his tutor with an unsure expression on his face. Sora read over his pupil's work carefully. "Very good," he said with a smile.

"I'm finally starting to get this sh- I mean... challenging math," Riku said sheepishly.

"Yes, you are. Though according to Professor Kravitz, you need to start paying attention more in her class," Sora remarked, raising a brow.

"Sora... so you _are_ gay!" came Axel's voice from behind.

The brunette turned to see his roommate in nothing but a towel. Axel grinned at Sora, causing the younger man to blush.

"Riku, this is my roommate, Axel," Sora introduced, suddenly looking down at his book.

The green-eyed teenager turned to see his tutor's roommate. Riku was speechless; Sora's roommate was very handsome. After that, Riku immediately turned back to his calculus book and pretended to be working on another problem.

"What I thought," Axel said, walking into his own bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Moments later, Axel returned, dressed in a button down shirt and dark pants, looking sexier than ever.

"Well, I'm off to my date with my lover," Axel professed, putting an emphasis on the last word. "Don't wait up." With that, the tall red-head vacated the dorm room.

There was an awkward silence in the dorm room. Riku soon noticed how uncomfortable the brunette he was crushing on appeared, and wanted to do something about it. He moved closer to Sora after placing his calculus book down on the coffee table in front of them, gazing at the brunette with his forbidden eyes of lust and pleasure.

The blue-eyed brunette glanced up from his own book, wondering why Riku had suddenly moved from where he was sitting. With one swift movement, Riku closed Sora's book and gave him a smirk. The younger man's face immediately turned red, he knew what would come if he did not stop the older man.

"Riku," Sora started, his voice cracking, "did you finish the rest of that homework assignment?"

Riku continued to gaze affectionately at his tutor. "What assignment?" he said, his voice seemingly deeper.

Sora's eyes widened as he saw Riku's hand come up and touch his cheek. "What are you doi-"

"Shh..." Riku whispered, placing a finger on the blue-eyed man's lips. He really liked Sora and he hoped that somehow Sora would soon return those feelings.

Dee do dee.

Riku, who was lost in Sora's eyes, ignored his cell phone's ring.

Sora, however, did not, "Riku, I think your phone is ringing," he managed to say.

Dee do dee.

"Fuck," Riku mumbled with an exasperated with a sigh, reaching into his pocket as if the phone had only rang once.

"What do you want?" Riku said rudely into his phone. The moment he was having with his crush had faded away. He had been getting so close to getting Sora to like him, he knew it. "Grandma? Sorry, I just uhm... thought you were someone else, yeah sorry. What? Oh. Really? At the corner of... got it. I'll be there, love you too, bye," Riku hung up his phone and stood up. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but my grandmother's car broke down and I need to go get her."

Sora, relieved that Riku's phone had rang, gave his pupil a smile, "Sure, we can schedule another session some other time, good luck with your grandmother."

Riku left the dorm room after that, giving Sora the chance to unpack and organize.

* * *

Riku hurried out into the parking lot to his car. He wanted to be sure his grandmother was safe. After backing out of the parking lot and pulling out into the road, Riku's leaf-green eyes gazed to each street sign as he passed them to ensure he would not get lost. Thunder struck and rain started to pour at a rapid pace, the man turned on his windshield wipers and hoped his grandmother had brought an umbrella with her. Eventually, Riku turned down a road, seeing his grandmother's 1985 Chevy Cavalier parked in front of one of the shops.

"Riku, your old and dear grandmother is getting wet!" Rayne shouted from afar, holding a shopping bag above her head to help prevent getting wetter than she already was.

Immediately after he parked his car, Rayne opened the passenger door and got inside. "Thank goodness you have a cell phone," Rayne said, expressing her gratitude.

"No problem."

After that, Rayne and her grandson drove home. As soon as Riku walked inside his home, he realized how hungry he was. Thankfully, his grandmother had left him a plate of food earlier. Riku took the plate down to his room and ate, eventually falling asleep on his desk afterwards.

* * *

Thump-knock.

Sora jerked his head up from his history notebook. After trying to unpack his things for an hour, he had decided to study for his classes and finish up some assignments. The sound he had just heard had come from the door. Grabbing a pan from off of the kitchen counter, Sora crept toward the door to his dorm. He opened the door up just a bit to see something that left his mind with many questions and sudden acquisitions. The surprised brunette's eyes widened as his roommate continued to make out with his date. Sora knew who the other boy was, since he shared a class with him. The shorter blonde's name was Roxas, and right now he looked like a mess.

Axel and Roxas leaned against the door, still into each other, causing Sora to be pushed back as the door swung open. After a short glance, Sora noted that Roxas's shirt and pants were undone. He also noted Axel's hand in his lover's pants. The wide-eyed brunette backed up as his roommate and the blonde stumbled into the room, still attached, and eventually stumbled into Axel's room. Thankfully, Axel kicked the door to his room closed behind him, for privacy.

Sora closed the front door to the dorm slowly. After the intimate moment he had just witnessed, he decided to forget about studying, take a cold shower, and go to bed.

The next morning, a knock on Sora's bedroom door awoke him, but before he could get up and answer it, his roommate invited himself inside and settled himself upon Sora's bed.

"Ever heard of waiting until I let you in? What if I were nude or something," Sora questioned.

"All the better for me," Axel replied, grinning. "Say, I was just wondering whether or not you were a breakfast person."

"What? Yeah, sure, if I have the time. Why?" Sora wondered aloud.

"Oh, I was just making some eggs and toast for my date and I, and I just decided to ask you if you wanted any, since we have extra."

_Axel's date? He's still here? Then that means... oh._

"... uhm, sure, save me a piece, let me just get up first," Sora forced out. He could feel his cheeks turning red.

The red-head patted his roommate's thigh and left the room short after to allow Sora to get ready.

_What is with him? I wouldn't expect him to be nice to me like that, even if he did have extra food. Or maybe, he wants me to keep what I saw a secret? But, I don't think he knows I saw that... he sure is a split personality, that's for sure._ Sora walked out of his room, in his night clothes, and without taking notice of anyone, went into the bathroom to get ready.

"That was my roommate," Axel stated, watching adoringly as his lover bit into a piece of toast.

Roxas smiled at the red-head in front of him, giving him a light kiss after swallowing his food.

Minutes later, Sora walked out of the bathroom showered and dressed, and for the first time that day, he noted the time. "Five-thirty! You woke me up at five-thirty for toast?" he shouted.

Axel glanced up from staring at Roxas and cocked his head. "Well aren't you a grouchy one," he remarked. "I do one nice thing for you... and you get so frisky, makes me wonder what you are like on your birthday."

The brunette rolled his eyes at the remark and dragged himself over to where Axel and Roxas were sitting. Roxas scooted over on the couch to make room for the extra person, sliding a plate over to him as he sat down.

"So, Sora, where's your boyfriend?" Axel questioned, causing Sora to spit out his juice.

"What? Boyfriend? I don't have a... Riku? He's not my... I'm just tutoring him," Sora corrected, stuttering between words and phrases. To think he had left home to get away from these types of acquisitions.

Roxas turned to Axel with a confused expression on his face, "You didn't tell me he was gay."

"Well, he is, and now you know," Axel said with a grin causing his lover to return that grin.

"Sora," Roxas began, "he may not be your boyfriend now, but I'm sure will be. Do you like him?"

The blue-eyed brunette could not believe what he was hearing, advice from someone who did not even know him. "Not in that way."

"He means, not in that way... _yet_," Axel rephrased.

Sora was on the verge of wanting to hurt his roommate at his point. "No. I mean, not in that way, like I said it, no different."

"C'mon, I saw how he was looking at you. He likes you, and eventually, you'll like him back. I know it, I could tell by the way you were avoiding eye contact with him that you had some feelings for this guy, some affection," Axel told his roommate, sounding very serious.

Roxas nodded in agreement, he wanted to help his lover's roommate get together with this 'Riku'. "I remember when Axel and I first met, well... never mind, that was love at first sight," he claimed, giving Axel a wink.

"Don't you want a boyfriend, Sora?" Axel asked.

* * *

Riku awoke to the smell of his grandmother's waffles. He got out of his bed as if he were hypnotized by the scent of Rayne's cooking. As if floating up the steps, he made his way upstairs and into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Riku," Rayne said, cheerfully.

"Waffles..." Riku sighed; he loved his grandmother's waffles.

"Go get ready and by the time you're back down here, I'll have a plate ready for you," Rayne instructed.

Making his way into the bathroom, the green-eyed man stretched and let out a yawn. He was more tired than usual this morning and decided to take a cold shower this morning instead of his usual hot one. He disposed of his clothing and turned on the shower. Once he got inside, he stood still and let the cold water run down his bare spine. Within moments, he was out of the shower, dressed, and was brushing his long, silver hair.

Riku made his way back into the kitchen to see a stack of waffles sitting on table waiting for him.

"Thanks, Grandma," Riku said, appreciatively

Devouring his waffles, Riku looked up at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall and noted the time. It was seven o' clock now meaning that he still had some time before his first class, English.

"That was really good," Riku stated, getting up from the table. "I've got to go now, thanks for breakfast, Grandma."

With that, he left the kitchen, heading outside to his car. Riku got inside his car, noticing the emptiness of it. It had felt that way ever since he and April broke up. Normally, the blonde girl would walk to his house from her own and together they would drive to the college campus, but lately, he had no company when he drove to school. Even though he was gay, he had to admit, he had enjoyed April's company.

About fifteen minutes later, Riku was walking down the pathways of the large university. He was glad that more than half of the week had already passed and was excited about the following week being a Thanksgiving holiday. He was looking forward to the free time and hoping that Sora would not mind a few tutoring sessions during the break.

A tap on his shoulder caused Riku to turn around to see his best friend, Leon, standing there looking a bit uneasy.

"What's up, Squall?" Riku teased.

"_It's Leon. _I need to talk to you... now," Leon said, pulling Riku aside and giving him a look of uncertainty.

Riku eased up on Leon and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well... I really like Ashy and I want to see her again..."

"Leon, chill out, what's wrong?" the silver-haired man questioned his closest friend.

Sighing, Leon put his hand behind his head in an embarrassed gesture. "Yesterday, Ashy and I went out for dinner... everything seemed to be going great and then my cell phone rings and..." The brunette let out another sigh as he looked down as his feet. "It was him."

Riku's eyes widened a tad, he knew exactly who Leon was referring to. Although Leon preferred females most of the time, he was indeed, bisexual and attracted to some guys. He also did not know that Riku was gay.

"Leon, while we are talking... I need to tell you something as well," Riku blurted out.

"Can it wait till science? I've got to get to class," Leon said, assuring Riku with a pat on his shoulder as he walked down the pathways to his class.

"Yeah... sure..." Riku said, leaving to go to his class as well.

* * *

Sora sat in the spacious history room copying notes off of the board. He had already been given an assignment for the holiday break the following week and only ten minutes of the class had passed. _Don't you want a boyfriend, Sora? _Axel's question had been running through his mind since he had left the dorm room after Roxas and Axel began to get a little to wild for his taste.

Did he want a boyfriend? The brunette could not help but wonder this as he turned the page in his notebook and started writing his assignment for the holidays. Sure, he did want a boyfriend, but Riku?

_I haven't really given him much of a chance... maybe he is the right guy. Axel might be right... I mean, he must know something. After all, he does have Roxas and he seems so happy too... Damn it, Riku likes me. I just need to give him an opportunity to ask me out. I mean, he's not so bad... actually; he's sort of... no I can't say that..._

Sora blinked, not realizing he had been in a daze for so long. The class was over and people were vacating the now almost empty classroom. The sapphire-eyed man stood and left the room, thoughts of Riku suddenly encircling his head.

_How can I give him a chance? I don't even know how to handle these sorts of situations. If only..._

As if on cue, April and Kairi waved at him from across the hallway, both of the girls had large grins on their faces.

"Sora! Come here," Kairi called, making a gesture with her hand.

The now curious brunette walked over to where the two females stood.

"Look, I've got to tell you something, April... about Riku," Sora started, deciding that now was a good time to tell her about Riku's so called 'other girlfriend.'

"Sora, I know. I just put you up to finding that entire out as a way to get you guys together," April said, nodding her head and not mentioning the part about Riku wanting her to do it.

Sora's mouth opened in shock, he had no clue. So, April did know that her ex-boyfriend was homosexual... wait, did he just use the word homosexual? Axel was slowly, but surely, beginning to rub off on him.

"We want to take you somewhere during lunch," Kairi said, still grinning.

"What? Where?" Sora asked, confused.

"You'll see," April said, winking at him.

The blonde and redhead walked off after that, leaving Sora somewhat worried about that day's lunch.

* * *

"So what did you want to tell me?" Squall Leonhart asked Riku once seated in the science classroom.

The silver haired man stared at his friend for a moment and then began telling him about how he was gay. He realized that the more people he told, the easier it was.

At first, Leon's eyes grew very wide, but when Riku told him about the past few days and April, his face seemed to relax a bit more.

After finding out that Riku had known his sexual preference for over seven years now, Leon said jokingly, "That explains a lot."

Riku rolled his eyes at his friend as the class settled down and finally began.

Professor Lombardi began to write an assignment on the board in the front of the room. The assignment was to explain evolution in a brief paper and it was due the following day. Riku took out a pen and some paper and began to work. For once, he wanted to get the assignment out of the way. He planned on having a tutoring session with Sora that evening and did not want his science work to get in the way of it.

"What do I do?" Leon asked, referring to the problem he had explained to his best friend earlier that day.

"Well, it was just one call, right?"

"He said he's going to come visit during the holidays... I can't do that, Riku. I mean, what if... it's been a long time," Leon whispered in return.

The green-eyed man continued to write as he said, "Leon, you'll have to make up your mind about who you prefer. I mean, if he really is coming back for that... then, go with what you truly want. But if Ashy means more to you than he does, I don't know... just do what your heart wants, what you want. I know you guys had a lot going on back in high school... and well, I don't really know what else to tell you but that."

Leon looked at his friend appreciatively. "... I won't ask you to bed him for me, then. I'll do him myself. You have your own problems with Sora," he said, leaving Riku to decipher the full meaning of his words.

Riku smirked at Leon's comment and continued to work on his paper, he wanted to complete it. The brunette turned his head and mimicked his friend's previous movements. Eventually, both of the men had finished their papers just in time as class ended.

* * *

"Guys, where are you taking me? Kairi, you better not be driving... I don't care how far away the place is, I'd rather drive or let April do it," Sora rambled on as Kairi and April took him outside and to the parking lot.

"I'm driving," April said, taking out the keys to her father's car. "I told you earlier, you'll see."

After struggling with him for a while, April and Kairi had finally gotten Sora into the car and were now driving down the road towards the secret destination.

"Why do I have to go anyway?" Sora asked finally.

"Because, we think this will help you out with Riku," Kairi said, deciding to tell the brunette the main motive for the trip.

Moments later, they arrived at the Twilight Mall. Sora groaned at the sight of the building and got out of the car.

"You brought me to a mall?" he asked, curious.

"Yes. We are going to help pick you get a whole new outfit and possibly a whole new wardrobe," April told him, the grin from earlier returning to her face.

Sora was _so_ not looking forward to being pulled in and out of dressing rooms for the next hour.

* * *

Riku tossed away his lunch tray and headed towards his next class. He was hoping to scope out Sora before his lunch break ended. Instead, he found Professor Kravitz, who asked him to come with her into her classroom. Riku followed her into her classroom, even though he knew he would be there soon enough, considering calculus was his next class for the day.

"Riku, Sora tells me that the tutoring session seemed to help you a lot yesterday. Sora has scheduled another one but this time, he will be coming over to your house,' Professor Kravitz notified the tall, silver haired man.

Nodding, Riku asked, "Speaking of Sora, you haven't seen him around, have you?"

"No, not since this morning, sorry. I shall see you in a while," Professor Kravitz said, letting Riku go.

With that, Riku exited the classroom and headed off to try and find his crush. He hoped that somewhere inside the large university campus, the blue-eyed brunette would be around and hopefully he would catch him before his next class.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Like I said in the beginning, transition chapter, I know it was not the longest thing in the world, but I hope you enjoyed it. If you have any questions about characters, feel free to ask them in a review. I know this chapter ended in sort of a cliffhanger and I know how much you guys love them (being facetious here) so that's why I ended it as I did. I'm going to try and get the next chapter done within two weeks, I say that now... good luck to me. Anyway, I'll shut up and let you all read the GendenCo original, and this one is one of my personal favorites, enjoy!

-Trumpet fanfare-  
GendenCo. presents...

**Where's My Shoe!**

**Sora: **Riku... uhm... do you know where my shoe is?  
**Riku:** No... why? -stares 'lovingly' at Sora's... ...-  
**Sora:** Well, as you can guess, I can't find it.  
**Riku:** Which foot?  
**Sora:** Right.  
**Riku:** Tied or Velcro?  
**Sora:** Slip on.  
**Riku:** I see... -smirk-  
**Sora:** ... Riku?  
**Riku:** Well, I have a righty, I have string, and I have Velcro.  
**Sora:** Wha?  
**Riku:** I'll help you find it, Sora. It's probably under your bed somewhere... -pulls Sora into his room and locks door-  
**Sora:** OO; YOU SAID YOU'D LOOK **UNDER** THE BED!  
**Riku:** I said nothing of the kind! I suggested that it could be under your bed. Consider this as kind old me helping you find your shoe.  
**Sora:** ... This has nothing to do with my feet, Riku.  
**Riku:** Yeah. I know.  
**Sora:** ...  
**Riku:** -grin-

Read and Review! Feel free to leave April a review as well, her user is Ouin. Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8: The Second Session

**Always There  
**The Second Session

**Disclaimer:** You know the deal. I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the common things used in this fan fiction.  
Heck, I do not even own any of the character names except my own two creations: Ashy Carter and Professor Kravitz.  
April owns all of the Genden Co. material used at the end of each chapter and owns her own character and Aaron Vandermast.  
I wish I could own Squall, but sadly, I do not. I can dream, can I not?

**Author's Note:** Sorry for the late update. As of about two weeks ago, marching band started back for me. Therefore, I am sort of in school now. I am going to try to write as much as I can, but marching band does take up a lot of my time. In addition, my birthday was today, July 17, so I am 15! Anyway, I am just going to cut to the chase. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Read and review!

* * *

"Wow," April and Kairi said in unison.

With a confused expression on his face, Sora stared at the two females.

"That bad?" he asked, with a sigh. He did not want to be forced into another outfit again. For the past forty-five minutes, the brunette had been pulled in and out of the store's dressing room. He was tired and beginning to get very grouchy.

"Actually, I like it. It's perfect... almost," Kairi remarked, her blonde friend nodding her head in agreement beside her.

"It needs... something," said April, walking over to Sora and taking a closer observation of him.

Before Sora could say anything, he was yet again, yanked into the dressing room. Moments later, he came out wearing almost the exact same thing he was before, except now, his pants were different.

"A little leather can do wonders," stated the spunky redhead.

"Mhmm," agreed the blonde, a sort of dreamy expression now on her face.

"So can we leave already? I'm tired... and I've got a calculus class soon," Sora whined, tugging at his tight pants.

Kairi and April looked at each other and nodded.

"Yes, on one condition. You have to wear this the next time you and Riku have a tutoring session," April began, walking over to Sora and handing him his original attire. "I guarantee that Riku will not just like it, he'll absolutely love it and want you more than ever."

Sora suddenly seemed to enjoy the idea of another man 'wanting' him. Now that he knew another man like himself, he would not mind having a relationship. Actually, he vowed to himself that at his next session with the silver-haired man, he would give him a chance.

* * *

Riku entered the semi-vacant calculus room a little earlier than usual hoping to find a certain someone inside. Sadly, Sora was not in the calculus room yet.

_That's weird... he usually gets here early... where could he be?_ The silver-haired man thought, edging on the foremost boundaries of curiosity.

About a minute before the class officially began, Sora stumbled into the room. The brunette, now catching his breath, walked over to a seat and sat down.

_Why is he so out of breath? Did he go running or something?_ Riku pondered, being pulled out of his thoughts by Professor Kravitz's greeting.

"Good afternoon, I have your tests graded." Normally, Professor Kravitz greeted her students with a smile, but due to the results of the previous test, her expression was blank. "I was very surprised with the results. It seems as if only a small handful of you looked over the lessons. I am, however, pleased to say that the few students who did score well, will be very happy about their grades. With that said, I should also mention that the students who did not do well at all will be very disappointed during finals, which I might add are only a few short weeks away."

Riku listened attentively, beginning to worry more and more about his grade.

Professor Kravitz then proceeded to pass back the tests. When Sora received his, he opened it just enough to peek inside and found himself pleased to see an A circled on the paper. However, Riku was not as delighted as the brunette. Actually, he was anything but. The silver-haired man frowned at the failing grade circled on his paper in bright red ink.

_FUCK! This is going to kill me..._

Riku flipped back to the front page as to hide his failure and then hid the test underneath his notebook.

"As many of you can see, the tests were terrible. I suggest that over the holidays most of you should brush up on your work. I hope to see better tests next time. Mind you, these do count twice and by the looks of it, that isn't going to be good at all," Professor Kravitz said, watching as some of her students slumped down in their seats.

After that, Professor Kravitz gave her students an assignment for the holidays and gave them the rest of the class to work on it. Sora stared at his work and found himself wondering about what the silver-haired boy across the room from him had made. After all, Riku was his pupil; he had every right to think about him.

_Yeah... it's just the tutoring. I mean, why else would I be thinking about Riku? Sure, it's nice to see him actually working hard... working... wait. Does that mean he flunked? I hope he didn't flunk... that would be terrible. Extra tutoring sessions. Yes. We must work. During the break even. Lots of work for him. I guess I'll be nice and give him a break or too... no wait, what am I thinking? Must not think about him… don't worry about Riku... Riku..._

Sora snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Professor Kravitz's dismissal of the class. He quickly picked up his books and headed off to his next class.

* * *

"Riku!" whispered April inside the library after seeing her former boyfriend sitting at one of the tables. She took a seat across from him and awaited a response.

Cascading green eyes appeared from behind a calculus textbook and gazed ahead at the blonde female seated across from them.

"Hello, April," said Riku in his smooth, relaxed tone.

April could not help but smile at the voice that had made her heart melt for so long and still did.

"... You'll be happy to know that your tutoring session with Sora will be a good one indeed," April said in a dream-like voice.

"Is that so?" the man asked, curious. He put down his calculus book to give the girl his full attention.

"Let's just say that he'll have a whole new look on life." With that said, April stood up and vacated the library, leaving Riku to ponder about her words.

_A new look on life... what is that supposed to mean? Is she saying that she got him to like me? How could she have done that? Then again... she is APRIL... she can do more than I think she can..._

The next few hours seemed to pass by quick, as Riku went in and out of rooms and back and forth from the library. He really wanted to get his work finished for once. Although he would not admit it, he was trying to impress his desire. Besides, if he got all of the work done, maybe Sora would stick around for something else. He really wanted the brunette to get closer to him. After he finished more of his work, he headed home to await Sora's arrival for their second tutoring session.

"Grandma, please don't!" Riku pleaded.

"Riku, don't worry. I promise I won't embarrass you in front of your huge crush. However, I might kid around... I don't mean to humiliate you, but if it happens..." Rayne joked.

"Grandma!" the silver-haired man exclaimed. "I'm going to go to my room, when Sora comes over, send him down there... and PLEASE don't embarrass me."

Riku left for his room after that, awaiting the arrival of his tutor.

* * *

"You guys are KIDDING me if you think I'll let you do that..." Sora said, his eyes wide.

"Relax, it's just a little eyeliner... it'll make you look hot," Kairi said, holding up the pencil.

"She's right, it will help your look. Sure, you are an attractive boy, but..."

"NO!" Sora shouted.

For the past hour, Seiya and Kairi were helping Sora get ready for his tutoring session. Actually, it was more like they were driving him insane. The two females had invited themselves over to Sora's dorm room and insisted they help him. Fortunately for Sora, his roommate was out. The brunette pouted as his mother stuck a handful of gel on his head and began styling his hair. At the same time, Kairi was fixing his ensemble, pulling and tugging when needed.

"Tada!" the two females said in unison, backing away from the blue-eyed man so he could look at himself in the tall, shiny mirror.

"Oh. My. God," Sora gasped, staring at his reflection.

"Yup, we did the right thing. If that's his reaction, Riku will surely love him twice as much," the red headed girl said, as a matter of fact.

Sora gazed at his appearance in the mirror. He was wearing an untucked, form fitting, tinted blue button down shirt. Normally, Sora would where a shirt like that tucked in, but according to Kairi, sticking his shirt in his pants made him look like a geek. Along with the shirt he wore a pair of tight leather pants, which hugged every curve on his legs. A pair of dark sneakers and his styled hair added to the look, making him look far different than usual. Sora remained silent, still stunned by his reflection.

"I wish I could see the look on Riku's face when he sees Sora all dressed up like this," Seiya said, smirking.

Before Sora could say anything, he was interrupted by the sound of his roommate's voice.

"I didn't know you had a sister, Sora," Axel remarked.

"Sister? What?" Sora started as he turned around to face the green-eyed male. "I thought you were out..."

"Aren't you even going to introduce me?"

"Fine. This is Kairi, she isn't my sister, just a close friend. Kairi, this is Axel, my roommate," Sora began, pointing at the cheerful girl.

"I know she's not your sister... I've seen her around on campus before. Nice to meet you," Axel said in a casual tone as he ran his hand through the air in a wave.

Kairi blushed as she quietly waved back.

Seiya proceeded to introduce herself, "I'm not Sora's sister. I'm his mother, Seiya. It's very nice to meet his roommate."

"You can't be his mother, you look young enough to be his sister."

"You flatter me," Seiya said, blushing.

Sora rolled his eyes at Axel. "I have a tutoring session that I really should be heading too. Mom, you're going to drive me, right?"

"You know, Sora, it's very impolite to interrupt," Axel started, smirking, "but I suppose you are right, you should be going off to your date. You shouldn't be late."

Instead of correcting him, the brunette just ignored his comment and began making his way to the door.

"I'll be downstairs," Seiya said, leaving the room before Sora with Kairi right behind her.

Before the blue-eyed brunette could vacate the room, his tall roommate shut the door.

"You know, you should wear leather more often..." he said, grinning. "Riku won't be the only one you'll turn on tonight, trust me."

Sora's eyes grew wide yet again as his face became ablaze. "W-What!"

"I suppose I can wait, you should go off to your lover," with that said, Axel winked at his wide-eyed roommate and opened the door, letting him go.

* * *

Ding, dong.

Rayne walked over to the front door, knowing exactly who would be there. She opened the door to see her familiar neighbor.

"Sora? Hello. I'm Riku's Grandmother, he's been expecting you," Rayne greeted, allowing him to enter the house as she closed the door after him.

The young man stepped inside, his books in one hand. "So, where is Riku?" he asked.

"His room is downstairs, go on in," the older woman informed him.

Sora walked over to the foot of the basement stairs, taking a deep breath, he started walking down to Riku's room.

Knock-knock.

"Come in."

Riku sat on his bed, working on his calculus assignment. "Have a seat," he directed, not glancing up.

The brunette took a seat in the empty chair across from the silver-haired man's bed. "So, how far have you gotten with the assignment?"

"Well, considering I suck at doing this sh- uhm... work, about thirty problems in. I really wish I understood this a bit more," Riku began now raising his head to look up at his tutor, his eyes locking onto him. His eyes widened at the sight of Sora in leather. _Goddamn. Where in the world has he been... April. Wow. He sure cleans up..._

Sora noticed the change in the green-eyed male's eyes and knew the reason for it. "Something wrong?" he questioned casually.

"..." Riku continued to stare in awe at Sora.

Dee do dee.

"Ahem, I... er, suppose I should go take this. I'll be back in... just a moment," the silver-haired man said, stuttering between words.

Riku quickly left his room and went up the stairs. Once he got to the top step, he stopped and flipped his phone open.

"Whoever you are, I love you," he said in gratitude.

"You are supposed to love _Sora_," said April. "That says a lot about why he isn't falling for you yet."

"April? I can't believe you made him look like that... its..."

"Hot, right? Yeah, I thought so too. However, that's besides the point. I guess I wasn't interrupting anything so I'm going to just cut to the chase. I have a date Friday night and I was wondering if you'd like to come along. You and Sora, actually. Just to go eat dinner, like the local pizza place. We could double. It'll help take the pressure off of you, I mean, having someone there and all," April asked speedily.

"I haven't even asked him yet... thanks to you, I think all I've done is make a fool of myself," Riku whispered.

"I'm sure you didn't make a fool of yourself. Ask him out, tell him it's a double date, which is true. I'm sure he'll say yes. Don't sound eager, be yourself. Riku, Sora will be yours soon enough. I'm sure of it," April said, sincerely.

"Thanks, but I'm going to screw it up," Riku replied.

"You won't. Trust me. Now go ask him out already! Good-bye, Riku."

_I guess she's right. I'd better go ask him out. It's now or never, Riku. If you want him, you'll have to at least ask him out first._

Riku opened the door to his own room and stepped back inside.

Sora looked up from his calculus book, "Welcome back. Now, I guess we should get started."

"Started? Oh! Right. Okay, let me just get my book and grab a chair so you can see my work."

The session began, Sora had made a mental plan of what he was going to do, so things went by smoothly. About an hour later, someone knocked on the door. Riku and Sora both looked up at the distraction.

"Come in," stated Riku.

Rayne opened the door with her free hand, the other hand held a platter of food with two plates on it. "I thought you guys must be hungry, so I brought dinner. I'll just set it down on this table and you guys can eat whenever. I don't want to interrupt your tutoring, Sora."

Sora looked up and gave Rayne a big smile. "Thank you for the food, uhm..."

"Just call me Rayne," Grandma Rayne said.

"Alright. Thank you, Rayne."

Riku finished another problem on his page as Rayne left the room.

"Sora... I have a question," started Riku.

"Sure, which problem?"

"It's not a math problem. I was wondering... would you like to go on a date... with me?" said Riku, rushing the last part.

"A date? Look, Rik-"

"I know. You don't want to. I'm sorry, I just find you attractive..." With that said, Riku found himself blushing. He did not mean to tell Sora all of that.

"I was going to say yes, actually," the brunette said, blushing as well.

"Really? Great. So, Friday night? Is that fine?"

"Perfect. Where to?" Sora asked.

"It's a double date, just to go eat pizza."

"With who?" questioned Sora wanting to get all of the details.

"April Genden and her date, I don't who that is though," Riku replied.

"Sounds great. Now can we eat?" Sora finished.

"Of course," Riku answered, standing up to get the tray of food off the table.

For the next fifteen or so minutes, the two men ate their dinner in silence. Actually, Sora was the one who was doing most of the eating. Riku was too busy trying not to stare at his tutor or make a mistake. Eventually, the brunette broke the silence.

"Your Grandma sure can cook. That was great," Sora complimented, finishing his plate.

"Mhmm."

While the green-eyed man finished his plate, the other man picked up his book and began to work again. After a moment of silence, Sora looked up from his book to see whether his pupil was ready to continue the lesson. Instead, he found himself dazzled by Riku's hair. He never noticed how long it was. Riku looked up to see his blue-eyed tutor staring at him.

"Sora? Are you okay?" he asked.

Sora blinked at Riku, "I-I'm fine..."

_He was staring... at me. Could that mean... No, probably not. Nevertheless, he **was** staring._ Riku wondered to himself, as he finished his dinner.

"Actually, I think we should call it a night. You've improved a lot, Riku," Sora said when Riku stood up to get his book.

"Oh... okay," replied Riku, both upset and glad at the same time. He was enjoying the time he had with Sora, but good things have to end, eventually. "So, Friday night? I'll uhm... call you? About the time and details."

"Yeah, sure. Friday. Tell Rayne that she's a great cook for me," Sora said, standing up and heading to the door.

"Alright, no problem. See you Friday... or maybe tomorrow, during lunch?"

"Why not? See you then," Sora said, opening the door and leaving.

Riku sat still for a moment, suddenly feeling empty again.

Once out of Riku's house, Sora went across the lawn and back to his own home. Thankfully, he still had his old house key on his keychain and let himself inside with it. When he was inside, he went to the living room and sat down. He just wanted a moment to relax and think.

_I think I like you, Riku._

* * *

**Author's Note:** Did you like it? I hope so. I did not want to leave you all with a cliffhanger, so I did not. However, I bet I left you with some questions, right? Like, who is April's date? What is in store for Riku and Sora during the date? What kind of pizza will they be having? (Yeah, whatever on the last one.) Anyway, I'm going to leave you by saying that most of those questions will be answered in the next update, unless I decide to throw a curve at you. Thanks again for all of the reviews! Drop April a review on her user, Ouin. Thanks!

Now, I'm proud to present yet another Genden Co. original production!

**Riku:** Oh Sora! You're so adorable!  
**Sora:** And you're so beautiful!  
**Riku:** I'm sexy.  
**Sora:** Yes... you are.  
**Axel:** I'm sexy too.  
**Riku:** Nice to know... ...  
**Sora:** OMG OHNOES IT'S THAT GUY AGAIN  
**Riku:** ... That guy needs to leave us alone.  
**April:** Why! But Axel x Roxas and Riku x Sora is soooo hot!

"Voh Garam Hai."

Read and review!


	9. Chapter 9: The First Date

**Always There  
**The First Date

**Disclaimer: **Same as always... if it is not clicking after eight chapters, I am sorry.

**Author's Note: **Let me first start by saying I am sorry for making you wait so long for this chapter. You see, once school kicked back up, I became quite busy and did not have much time to write. Now, since it is Christmas Break, I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Sora stepped out of his mother's car and said goodbye to his mom. Seiya waved at her son and drove off. After Sora had gotten home earlier, his mother had broken him out of his slight trance and driven him back to his dorm without a word.

Sora fidgeted with his dorm key as he tried letting himself in.

Click. Mission accomplished.

The second he stepped inside, his face became suddenly red. Axel and Roxas were in deep make out mode on his couch. The two men were intertwined tightly with one another and their hands were moving slowly along one another's bodies as they kissed more and more intensely.

"Ahem," Sora cleared his throat, trying to get the two male's attention.

For a moment, the men ignored him, but eventually Axel jerked his head up, and if looks really could kill, Sora would have definitely been dead. Sora's eyes widened briefly at the sight of Axel's angered expression.

"Axel, I'd better go," Roxas piped in after noticing his lover's angered look.

Axel sat up freeing the smaller man from underneath him. Roxas fixed his attire quickly and vacated the room.

Once the door was shut, Axel stood as if to size Sora up. The brunette gulped, taking a step back.

"Look, you're not the only one who lives here now, Axel," Sora stated at an attempt to stand up for himself.

"Don't remind me," said the redhead, rolling his eyes. "What the hell were you thinking interrupting me?"

"Interrupting you? Get a room, Axel," Sora argued.

Axel took a step forward, causing Sora to flinch.

The older man's face broke into a sudden grin. "So, how was your date?" he asked.

"Forget you, Axel. I'm not going to answer that."

"Hah, riled up tonight, are we?"

Sora rolled his eyes at his roommates comment, but before he could say anything, Axel tackled him to the ground.

"If you won't tell, I'll make you. I tried being nice after all," said the taller man.

"Whatever. Screw you," Sora replied in a pissed off tone.

"Everyone wants to. If you're nice, I just might let you. Got it memorized?"

For the next few minutes, the young brunette tried to free himself from Axel's hold and failed miserably.

"Fine. If you care so much... I have a date with him Friday night," Sora said with a sigh.

Instead of getting off Sora as the younger man hoped, Axel remained where he was giving the brunette a smirk.

"Like I said earlier, he's not the only one you were going to turn on tonight," said the redhead finally getting off Sora.

The blue-eyed man blushed brighter than ever as he stood up.

"Out of every person that lives on the island, you have got to be the horniest," Sora said, now grinning at his roommate.

"If that's true, you are definitely the most molestable," Axel said back receiving a glare from the younger man.

After a long silence, Sora started, "Axel... could I ask you something?"

"Oh, Sora! It's about time you asked me to take away your _virginity _for you," answered the taller man, jokingly.

"I'm serious."

"Fine. Go on and ask me," Axel said, sighing and plopping himself onto the couch.

"Why is it that Roxas doesn't mind you flirting with other men?" the younger man questioned.

"That's it? God, you are so boring. Well, if that's all you want to know... all right. Roxas and I trust each other a lot. We have an understanding that as long as we tell each other, we are free to screw around with as many people as we want. With that said, I have a question for you," Axel replied, smirking. "When are you and Riku going to become lovers? Cause it's more fun to fuck a guy when he's not a virgin."

Sora's cheeks burned a deep scarlet as he stood speechless.

"Definitely most molestable," Axel said, standing up and leaving to his room.

Sora decided to call it a night and went off to bed.

* * *

Riku walked down the busy hallways, practically skipping. Ever since Sora had accepted going on a date with him, Riku's heart felt like it was going to explode.

"Riku!" shouted April from behind.

"He said yes, April. Thank you," Riku said immediately, knowing what she was about to ask.

"That's great!" April started to walk alongside him, "So, tomorrow night, you and Sora, all alone... eating pizza together."

"Alone? I thought this was a double date, as in **two** couples."

"It is... sort of. Aaron and I'll be there, just sitting at another table," April explained.

"But what if... and... you can't leave me alone with him! You can't... well, not yet anyway," the silver-haired man argued.

April giggled at the last remark and replied, "Don't worry. You'll do great. Here's the plan, we all meet at the pizza place down the street at about 7 o' clock, then after we eat pizza, we can all come back to my house and hang out."

"Okay, but if you see me panicking, please help," Riku said, leaving April as he left to his first class.

The hours of the day seemed to tick by very slowly to Riku. His heart skipped a beat every time a class ended. Finally, it was time for lunch. The part of the day he was hoping would arrive quickly was here at last.

Riku walked out to the food court and tried to find his future date somewhere in the crowd. After a few moments of searching, he spotted the thin brunette taking his lunch tray to an empty table. His friend Kairi was sitting beside him, speaking to him. The seat across from him was empty, just as Riku wanted.

The silver-haired man hurried to the shortest line and when it was his turn, ordered his food. He paid for it and took the tray, walking over to where Sora was sitting.

"Mind if I take this seat?" asked Riku, watching Sora look up from his meal.

"Sure, go ahead," replied Sora in a very polite manner.

"So, he was all, yes! Then I turned to him and told him to go away... what a jerk. He actually thought I would... oh, hello Riku," Kairi greeted, cutting off her own words. "Hey, Sora, I'm going to go do some research for this huge report I have to turn in tomorrow, see you later."

Sora knew that Kairi had just completely lied, there was no report. Actually, he was glad she did leave, this was the perfect chance to talk to Riku and get to know him some more.

"Sora, I thought you might want to know the plan for tomorrow," Riku began, trying to make some sort of conversation. He began going over the times and details for the planned date they had the following evening, repeating April's exact words from earlier. When he finished, he said, "Sound good?"

"Yes, fine," the shorter man replied with a nod. "Now, I have another question, if you don't mind me asking... why did you pick me?"

"Pardon? I don't quite understand what you are asking," said Riku, confused.

"I mean, you are a very handsome guy, you could have anyone. Aren't I a bit under your league?" Sora questioned.

"Sora, I really like you. You are completely in my league," Riku replied with his most sincere voice.

The blue-eyed man blushed, suddenly looking down at his food. _What's wrong with me? I haven't felt this way since... no, but... could it be?_

The rest of the day was a blur, it did not matter anyway. Riku was much too excited for the next night now. After seeing the way Sora reacted to what he said at lunch, he felt a lot more confident about how things were going to go. He might not need April's help at all. The tall man smiled as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Friday, four o' clock P.M.

"Trust me, Sora, when I went on my first date with Axel, I was a nervous wreck too. I mean, look at him... wouldn't you be too?" Roxas told Sora.

Roxas was helping Sora get ready for the evening. Sora was dressed in some comfortable dress pants and a button down shirt, but he did not feel the way he was dressed.

"So, what are the plans?" Roxas asked as he continued to try and tame Sora's wild hair with a brush.

"We eat pizza and then go hang out at April's house," Sora told him, making faces whenever he felt his hair being pulled.

"Sorry about that," Roxas apologized. "April's house? Hmm, interesting. Maybe you'll get lucky."

"W-What? It's only the first date, Roxas!"

"And? What's your point? I got lucky when Axel picked me up for our first date... we were late for our dinner reservations," Roxas told him.

"But, I don't know... I've never... what if..." Sora ranted randomly.

"Don't worry, when the time comes, it'll happen. And you know what? You'll never forget it," Roxas assured him.

Eventually, Sora looked as ready as he was going to be. It was about six-thirty and Sora felt like going somewhere before going to the pizza restaurant.

* * *

Riku checked himself in the mirror for the third time. _I think I look fine... just one more brush of my hair should do it._ The tall man grabbed his coat and left his house shortly after, heading to April's house to pick her up. Though they were not going together, April did not have a car that day, since her mother had taken it out.

Ding-dong.

April opened her front door to see Riku waiting for her, pacing back and forth on the sidewalk.

"Man, you women take forever to get ready..." Riku complained.

"You must be really glad you switched to men then, huh?"

Riku laughed at the blonde girl's comment as he pulled out onto the road once again and began to drive down to the pizza restaurant.

"You look great by the way," Riku commented. "Aaron will be very pleased."

"Yeah thanks, I really hope he will be. See, I asked Janet if it was all right with her that I was dating her ex-boyfriend, and she said she did not mind. I'm just glad she gave me the okay," April told Riku.

"Well, how do I look then?" the silver-haired man asked the female.

"Great as always, Riku. Relax; Sora will be all over you before you know it."

Once again, Riku liked the idea of that happening and as he pulled into the pizza place, he felt more relaxed then he did when he first left his house. Everything was sure to go perfect.

* * *

Sora walked down the street and into the card shop. He wanted to get a 'Thank You' card for April; because he knew it was thanks to her that the night was even going to happen. He paid for the card and left the shop. He was thankful for the fact he only had to walk a short distance from his dorm to the pizza restaurant, and before he knew it, he was there.

"Hello, Sora," greeted April and Riku in almost unison.

"Hi, guys. Is your date here yet, April?" asked Sora.

"Yeah, Aaron is here, he's just in the restroom, washing up," April told him.

Sora handed her the card and smiled at her. "Alright, thanks, April."

April opened the card and looking back up at him, whispered, "No problem. Now go make Riku's night."

Sora blushed his signature blush and walked over to where Riku was standing.

"So, I guess we're sitting here," Riku said, pointing at a small table for two.

"What about April and Aaron?" Sora questioned.

"April said that we should sit at separate tables, so we can get to know our dates better. I hope that's fine with you," Riku said truthfully. "Oh, and April already ordered two pizzas, is pepperoni fine with you?"

"Sure, perfect," Sora replied as he took his seat.

"You uhm... look very nice," Riku commended.

"Thank you, so do you," Sora replied, blushing once more.

Riku could not help himself from grinning- receiving a confused look from the younger man sitting across from him.

"I'm sorry, you just... you look really cute when you blush like that," the taller man told him.

Sora's face was even redder now. _Axel said the same thing and I disliked it... but why do I find it to be flattering when Riku says it? Am I really starting to like him…?_

The pizza arrived shortly and the men immediately dug in. It seemed as if they were so busy the entire day being nervous that they forgot to eat.

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Sora started, "Riku, I was just wondering, what are we going to do at April's house?"

"Hmm, good question. I really don't know, I guess we'll watch a movie or something, why?"

"No reason..." Sora said only partially telling the truth. Honestly, what Roxas had said about 'getting lucky' would not leave his mind.

April stood up from her seat and walked over to the men's table, "Finished? I think it's about time we head over to my house; you can drive us all in your car, right Riku?"

Riku nodded, reaching over to his drink and taking a sip. Sora stood up and waited for the older man to do the same.

Eventually, everyone was in the car and ready to go. April and Aaron shared the backseat, while Sora accompanied Riku in the front. Upon reaching April's house, the young brunette suddenly felt nervous again. The same emotions from earlier on in the day had come back, but why?

April unlocked her front door and let everyone in, "Just have a seat in the living room, I'll get some ice cream out."

Sora sat back on one of the couches and watched as Riku sat down right next to him.

For the next thirty minutes or so, Aaron and April just played random games back and forth. Riku and Sora joined in at times, but they remained silent overall. The tall, silver-haired man glanced out the window and noticed how windy it was getting. He could hear April's mother's wind chimes ringing in the distance. It looked like there would be a storm soon enough.

"No, that's cheating! You can't do that!" April squealed, as Aaron passed go on the Monopoly board for the third time.

"You're just mad because I'm good at this game," Aaron argued.

"You are good at EVERY game, Aaron," Riku commented, rolling his eyes at the couple's silly arguments.

"Riku, would you like to watch a movie?" Sora asked. He had been bored for the past fifteen minutes and noticed the stack of DVD's through the clear television cabinet door.

"Sure, go ahead and put one on," April answered.

Just as Sora was about to stand up, a sudden roar of thunder came from outside, sending the usual chills up his spine.

Riku felt a warm hand squeeze his thigh quickly after. A moment later, the power went out.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Don't you just hate it when I do that? Once again, I apologize for making you all wait so long. I hope you enjoyed this installment of 'Always There'!

As always, read and review!

And now I present... another GendenCo original!

Before They Were Lovers

**Riku:** Huh?  
**Sora:** -acting smart- Please, Riku. It's all rather socioeconomic... -rants-  
**Riku:** -only interprets "please, Riku"; stare- ... okay.  
**Sora:** You mean you understand?  
**Riku:** Yeah. -prepares to pounce- I always have.  
**Sora:** d'huh... ? -is suddenly pounced-  
-mouth forms trademark 'o'-  
**April:** That's socioeconomics! I mean... 'That's Hot!'

Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10: The Storm

**Always There  
**The Storm

**Disclaimer:** Just be glad I got this far and remember that I do not own any of the stuff in here. You get the point.

**Author's Note:** I know, I know, it took me two months to update, but at least I finally did? I could make all of the pathetic excuses in the world, but I am only human. Enough with my ranting, on to my usual pre-chapter talk. In this chapter, if you have not already figured out by the title, it is about "The Storm". I enjoyed writing Aaron and April's parts in this chapter, Aaron cracks me up. Before I go and spoil something, I should shut up and let you read. Enjoy!

* * *

Riku squinted at the bright light in his eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were right there," April apologized, moving her hand and shining the flashlight at the ground. "Aaron, could you come with me downstairs? I'm going to check the breaker system."

Aaron stood up and together they carefully went downstairs, leaving Sora and Riku alone.

Sora's hand was still on Riku's thigh, unmoving as if the brunette did not realize it was there.

Thunder boomed again, this time the younger man reacted by grabbing Riku's arm with both hands, hugging it tightly for comfort.

"You really don't like thunder, do you?" Riku said softly.

Startled by the break of silence between them, Sora replied, "I've never been a friend of it."

"Sora, don't worry, it's just a noise, it won't hurt you. And if that doesn't help, I'm still here," Riku comforted, patting Sora on the back as though to prove to him he was there.

Sora hugged Riku's arm tighter as if to reassure himself. "Thanks, Riku."

For a moment, they stayed in silence; eventually, Sora broke the silence when thunder struck once again: he let out a small scream.

"Sora, calm down," Riku said as he grabbed the frightened brunette's arms.

Sora took a deep breath and apologized, "Sorry, I didn't think I was going to scream like that. You must think I'm very childish, screaming about thunder at my age..."

Instead of replying, Riku used Sora's arms to help him see in the dark.

"Riku, what are you doing?" Sora asked as Riku's hands landed on his shoulders and continued to move upward to his face.

"Shh..." Riku shushed, placing a finger gently upon Sora's lips.

Sora looked up at Riku's dark face. The younger man's eyes had adjusted to the darkness that filled the room; he could make out Riku's outline. Riku's long, silver locks still shone giving him a sort of glow.

A second later, Riku leaned forward and pressed his lips against Sora's.

Sora closed his eyes and parted his lips, letting Riku take control over his mouth.

The lights suddenly flickered back on, just as Riku began to explore Sora's mouth with his curious tongue. Many thoughts ran through Sora's mind. Would this be the night he lost his virginity, or would he even allow Riku to get that far?

The sound of the television blared in the background, like some sort of music keeping the rhythm of Sora's rapidly beating heart.

"Yeah, it looks like the lights are back," Aaron shouted to April as he made his way back upstairs. When Aaron finally made it all the way back upstairs, the sight of Riku and Sora, sucking each other's faces put Aaron in a sudden state of shock.

"I did it! The lights are back!" April cheered as she began to make her way up the steps. When she got halfway up, she could see Aaron already upstairs, with his jaw dropped and his eyes almost popping out of his head. April ran up the last steps to see what was up and came upon the same scene Aaron had just walked in on moments ago. After a few seconds of silence, April let out a squeal and gasped, "That's hot."

Aaron snapped out of his shock when April spoke, at the same time, Sora pulled away from Riku, after Riku's hands began to go a little too far south for a first date.

Riku gave Sora a look of satisfaction, grinning. He leaned in and whispered, "Maybe we can go farther next time."

The young brunette nodded in acceptance to the future date as he attempted to straighten himself up. Sora glanced up, noticing Aaron and April watching him from the other side of the room and realizing that Riku's actions had just caused a once innocent Aaron to witness something that would surely scar him for life.

Before anyone could break the silence, a phone began to ring. A familiar cell phone theme rang throughout the quiet room, until Aaron pulled out his phone and answered, "Hey, mom."

April walked back to the couch opposite where Riku was sitting, giving him a wink and an 'I see you just scored a little action' look. The tall man could do nothing but grin in return as a sudden boom of thunder caused Sora to hug Riku tightly once again.

"Well, I hate to end our date like this, but my mother wants me home to help my dad with something," Aaron said, getting his jacket and giving April a light peck on the cheek before opening the door and leaving the house.

"I suppose we'll go as well," Riku piped in, standing up with Sora still attached to him.

"Riku, the storm is terrible outside... I don't think you will be safe driving all the way to your home from here," said Sora, concern in his voice. "Why don't you spend the night at my dorm? Since it's closer than your house from here."

Riku nodded to the offer and together, the two men left the house and walked outside to Riku's car. The night had just begun.

* * *

_Ching-ching... click._

Sora opened the door to his dorm, once again intruding in on Axel and Roxas on the couch and all over each other.

"Don't mind them... they do this all the time," Sora said in a tired voice.

Riku followed Sora to his bedroom, watching as Sora took of his jacket and hung it on the coat rack by his bedroom door.

"Make yourself comfortable. I guess you will be sharing a bed with me tonight, we can sleep on opposite sides, it'll be fine," Sora rambled on as he walked into his closet and pulled out his nightclothes. "Hmm, you'll need something cozy to wear... I'll be right back."

After Sora left the room, Riku looked around the room he was going to spend the night in. The walls were a simple white color, obviously the university painted each dorm to have an identical look. The floor was very clean. Sora must be more organized than Riku thought. Everything looked as if it had its own place and nothing was out of it.

Sora returned to his room with a pair of drawstring pants in his hand. "This is all that I could manage to grab of Axel's... he and Roxas just moved into his room. I think it will fit you fine, I'm sorry I couldn't get you a shirt."

"That's fine, I sleep without one anyway," Riku said, emphasizing the last part in a way that caused Sora's cheeks to turn a bright shade of red.

Sora glanced over at the clock on the wall of his room, it was past midnight. Luckily, tomorrow was Saturday and Sora did not have any plans that would force him to go to bed and ruin the night. Moments later, Sora and Riku had both changed, Riku keeping his current shirt on since they were not sleeping just yet.

"So, I guess the pants did fit..." Sora started, trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, they did," Riku replied, glancing up and seeing how nervous the brunette looked. "Sora... I uhm, tonight was great. Thanks for letting me crash here for the night, I mean."

"No problem, I don't want you to get hurt driving in that storm," said Sora, standing up and walking over to his closet to get something.

Riku watched as Sora got out another blanket and a pillow. "It'll probably get cooler tonight," explained Sora, placing the items onto the bed beside the silver-haired man.

For the next hour or so, Riku and Sora just sat on the bed and talked. It was the perfect moment to get to know one another.

"Is Axel a good roommate?" Riku questioned curiously, his eyes lingering on Sora's lips in a semi-hypnotized way.

"He can be a real jerk... a horny jerk in fact. Sometimes he is really nice as well; he will ask to do things for me... I don't know, he's two-faced I guess," Sora replied, catching Riku's eyes in his last words. For some reason, Sora began to believe that Riku had not been listening.

A second later, the men's lips were locked. Riku leaned Sora back on the bed, his hands feeling inside the younger man's shirt. Sora felt Riku's hands begin to climb downward and for that reason, Sora pulled away.

"Riku..." Sora gasped, his heart pounding harder and faster. Part of his body wanted to continue, but his mind felt that Riku was going too fast.

Riku suddenly stopped, staring into Sora's blue eyes. "Sora... if this is too much... I'll stop," Riku said giving Sora another deep kiss before sitting back up.

Sora blushed, sitting back up. He wrapped his arms around Riku and whispered, "I'm not ready yet."

For the next few minutes, the two men held onto each other, enjoying the warmth they shared. A while later, Riku's cell phone ring disturbed the silence.

Dee do dee.

"Mother-" Riku cursed under his breath, pulling out his phone and flipping it open. "For God's sake, it's the middle of the night, who is this?"

"Don't you ever read the caller ID that comes with the phone? If it's a bad time, sorry, but I have to tell you this," Squall Leonhart replied, taking a look at the clock and realizing how late it truly was.

"Riku, I'm going to go brush my teeth," Sora said, deciding to leave Riku alone while he answered his call.

"Fine, Leon, what is so important that you had to interrupt a great moment I was just having?" Riku questioned, upset and angry at his cell phone for always ringing when he never wanted it to.

"He's coming... on Tuesday."

"Tuesday? That's just a few days away." Riku said, stating the obvious.

"You think I don't know that? I'm starting to freak out... he called me earlier. He said that he couldn't wait to see me. Riku, what am I going to do?" Leon said, worried.

"Take a deep breath, Leon. When he comes, just act as you would if I came over. Two friends just hanging out and nothing more," Riku advised.

"But what if he makes a move?" asked Leon.

"Do what feels right. Leon, you've been through this before, you can do it. Now if you don't mind, it's really late, and I'd like to return my attention to Sora," Riku said quickly, turning off his phone before Leon could ask another question.

Sora stepped back into the room a moment later, flossing his teeth. "Di ou an up ha fho?"

Riku laughed at Sora's attempt to form words while he was flossing. "If I think I heard you right, then yes, I did hang up the phone."

Sora stopped flossing to cover his yawn. "I'm tired," he said, pulling the floss out of his mouth and tossing it in his trash can.

"I am too, sort of. I guess it's about time we both go to bed anyway," Riku said, half-heartedly, wishing to continue where they had left off before the phone call.

Sora jumped onto one side of the bed, pulling the covers over him and closing his eyes. "Good night, Riku."

Riku pulled off his t-shirt and put it on the end of the bed, crawling in on the other side and closing his eyes. "Sleep well, Sora."

* * *

An hour later, a large crash of thunder echoed throughout the room. Sora jerked awake in his sleep, his arms reaching for Riku. As the night progressed, Sora moved closer to Riku with every crackle of thunder. Soon enough, Sora had his arms around Riku's bare waist, his head buried in the older man's back.

The sudden feeling of Sora's breath against his back awoke Riku. He looked down at his stomach, making out Sora's arms wrapped around him. _He probably got frightened by the thunder again... I don't mind this though... Sora seems so comfortable; I don't want to wake him._

* * *

"Mmm... five more minutes..." Sora mumbled when Riku turned unconsciously in his sleep. "Mom... it's Saturday... just a few more minutes."

Riku slowly opened his eyes, the sound of Sora's begging waking him up. It was noon, and Riku could hear voices coming from the living room. It was probably Sora's roommate and his date, doing the same thing they were doing when the silver-haired man had walked into the dorm the previous evening.

Sora hugged Riku's bare chest tightly, like a three-year-old would to a favorite teddy bear. Riku smiled at the affection Sora gave him in his sleep. Sora's hair rubbed against Riku as he turned his head and opened his eyes.

"Mom?" Sora asked, receiving a laugh from Riku. "..." Sora's eyes widened as he came to realize where he was and what had happened the night before. "You're not mom..."

"Of course not. If I were, seeing your mother without a shirt on would not be a pleasant sight to see first thing in the morn-afternoon," Riku said, grinning at the younger man's mistake.

Sora shuddered at the thought and sat up, pulling his blanket around him for warmth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that... I guess I was sleep-hugging?"

"Sleep-hugging? Is that even possible?" Riku questioned, putting his hands behind his head and keeping his eyes on Sora.

"Aren't you just so relaxed? A long night in someone else's bed tends to cause many people discomfort, but not you," Sora said sarcastically.

"I see you aren't much of a morning person."

"I see you aren't much of a blanket," Sora mimicked in return, rubbing his arms to keep him warm.

Riku rolled his eyes at Sora's attempt to remain as warm as possible.

"While you keep trying to stay warm, do you mind if I use your bathroom to wash up for the day?" Riku asked, sitting up and getting off the bed.

"Yeah, there might be some extra toothbrushes in the bathroom drawer; Axel tends to keep a new box for Roxas, since he spends the night so often," Sora explained.

Riku left the room and headed off to the bathroom, passing by Axel and Roxas sharing a lunch in front of the television. None of the two men were watching the talk show that was on. Instead, they were too busy watching each other as they continuously gazed into each other's eyes, feeding each other pieces of the meal in front of them.

Back in Sora's room, the brunette was making his bed. A habit he had kept from living with his mother for so many years. Sora hummed along with the radio he had turned on when Riku left. He hated the silence of his room when he was alone. Sora began to get into the song and used a pen as a microphone as he began to sing along with the familiar song.

_"I love you baby, and if it's quite alright, I need you baby, to warm a lonely night..."_

"Of all the songs to hear on a Saturday afternoon after just waking up, you picked this one to sing along with?" Riku joked as he walked back into the room just when Sora started dancing.

"Yeah, got a problem with my singing?" Sora argued, mouthing the next part of the lyrics as they picked back up.

"No, I don't mind the singing... it's the dancing I'm concerned with," Riku said, smirking.

"And you could do better?" Sora challenged, swinging his hips to the beat of the chorus.

Riku took Sora's arm and pulled him close, beginning to lead in a sort of waltz.

"Of course I can do better," he said, as he spun Sora around in circles around the room.

_"You're just too good to be true. _

_Can't take my eyes off you. _

_You'd be like Heaven to touch. _

_I wanna hold you so much. _

_At long last, love has arrived,_

_And I thank God I'm alive. _

_You're just too good to be true. _

_Can't take my eyes off you."_

Moments later, the song ended, but the two men continued to waltz around the room.

* * *

A few hours later, Riku had left the dorm, leaving Sora to take a shower and continue the rest of the day. Sora sung the song as he took his shower. Little did he know, Axel had crept into the bathroom to interrupt Sora's moment of peace.

_"You're just too good to be true. Can't take my eyes off of you,"_ Sora sung as he took a bar of soap and lathered up his hands.

_"You'd be like Heaven to touch. I wanna hold you so much,"_ Axel sang in return to Sora's words, causing the brunette to scream and toss the bar of soap in the air.

"What the hell, Axel?" Sora interrogated, angered by the disturbance.

"Singing old love songs, are we? Did you get some last night?" Axel asked, a grin forming on his lips.

"Shut-up and get out. I can't even take a shower in this place without being interrupted by you," Sora shouted.

Axel left the bathroom, laughing as he plopped onto the couch in the living room and turned on the television.

Ten minutes later, Sora came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and very mad.

"Now that you are finished, tell me, did you get some last night?" Axel asked for the second time, his grin returning quickly.

"Why do you care? I really like him, okay Axel? I didn't "get some" with him or anything, but I-we did do other things," Sora said, his voice in a dream-like state. "He was really fantastic..."

Axel just sighed heavily, giving Sora an 'I can't believe you are still a virgin'-look.

* * *

Riku sat back on his bed, listening as his best friend, Squall Leonhart, told him about the phone call he had received the night before.

"He said he missed me... the way he said it... I don't know. I think he really wants to kick back up where we stopped," Leon said, confused.

Riku cocked his head to one side and looked straight at Leon, "If it's love, let it be."

"What kind of response is that?" Leon asked, raising a brow at his friend.

"Sorry, I'm just... I guess I'm... _in love_," Riku replied, gazing off into space.

"Wow, that's great. I guess I should ask, how was last night?" Leon inquired.

"Fantastic," began Riku. "It's funny really... if it weren't for that storm, the night would have ended in a completely different way."

"So, what made it that great?"

"Sora," Riku replied simply, closing his eyes and reliving the memory of dancing with the blue-eyed man.

Leon smiled at his friend's response, his mind a bit more at ease about his guest's visit in the upcoming week.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kairi turned the page in her book, listening to Sora rant on about his night with Riku.

"He really is an amazing dancer," Sora stated, looking up at Kairi for a response.

"Sounds like you had one heck of a night," Kairi said, writing something down on a sheet of paper she had beside her.

"What are you doing anyway?" Sora finally thought to ask.

"I have this research paper due today," Kairi informed the brunette.

"Kairi, it's Saturday. We even have this entire week off."

"I know that, but my professor obviously doesn't. He wants this paper in today. Even though it is Saturday," Kairi explained as she wrote down some more words. "Do you want to go to the Campus Library with me? I have to type this silly thing."

"Sure, I don't have any plans. What time is it due?" Sora said, glancing up at the clock, which read 2:30.

"Four o'clock. Four-thirty at the latest," Kairi said, gathering her books and notes and walking to the door.

Sora followed her outside and to her car, getting in and buckling up.

* * *

"Oh, shit!" Leon said, suddenly panicking.

"What's wrong?" Riku asked, snapping out of his daydream.

"I totally forgot about this paper I have to turn in in about an hour!" Leon clarified, locating his research book. "I'm going to the Campus Library. C'mon if you want."

Ten minutes later, Riku and Leon arrived at the University.

Leon ran inside and grabbed a seat in front of the nearest, vacant computer. Riku walked into the quiet library, seeing his best friend frantically clicking through various websites and flipping past pages of information in an encyclopedia.

Grinning, Riku decided to find a magazine to look at. He walked past a familiar redheaded girl with the same expression as Leon on her face.

"Riku?" Sora asked from behind.

Riku turned around to see Sora standing there with a book in his hands.

"What are you doing at the library on a Saturday?" Sora questioned.

"I should ask you the same thing, but I have a feeling our reasons are identical," Riku started. "Your friend has a stupid research paper due, right?"

Sora laughed at Riku's remark, "Right."

"And you were bored enough to tag along with your friend."

Sora's smile grew wider, "Correct. It seems that you and I have a lot more in common than I thought."

"Oh? That both of our friends have stupid research papers due today?" Riku joked.

"Yes, and that we are both easily manipulated into tagging along with them," Sora explained, receiving a chuckle from Riku.

"Would you be interested in having lunch with me tomorrow?" Riku asked, placing a hand on the brunette's, soft cheek.

"Only if you have dinner with me tonight," Sora replied, giving the older man a kiss.

"It's a date," Riku added before whispering into Sora's ear, "_You're just too good to be true_."

"_Can't take my eyes off you_," Sora whispered in return.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Gosh, I love and hate that song at the same time... it's titled _"Can't Take My Eyes Off You"_ and is by Frankie Valli what did you think of this chapter? I enjoyed writing the middle/end the most; Axel interrupting Sora in the shower! Haha.

Let's see, that's all I can think to say, before the Genden Co. short of course. Read and Review!

I am proud to present yet another Genden Co. original parody:

**Not A Riku/Sora Parody  
****  
****April:** Wt-fizzle? What kind of title is that?  
**Narrator:** Easy. One I made up.  
**April:** But why? TT  
**Dark:** Cause I'm in it.  
**April:** -chokes-  
**Amy:** It's a bird!  
**Satoshi:** Dah-rop-eet lyke- OMG, EET'S A SPATULA!  
**April:** No, it's Dark Mousy with wings of a bird and the -**CENSORED**- of a spatula! -faints of heat stroke-  
**Dark:** ... oo  
**Riku:** Well, that was pointless.  
**April:** But it was HOT! -re-faint-

Leave a review! 3


	11. Chapter 11: The Unraveling

**Always There**  
The Unraveling

**Disclaimer:** Minus my own personal, original creations, I do not any of the things used in this fan fiction.

In other words, Sora, Riku and all of their friends are of no legal ownership to me. Thank you.

**Author's Note:** First and foremost, I apologize for the extended delay in writing and posting this chapter. Junior year has been the busiest year of my life and life is just getting busier. Thanks to the prodding of my beloved editor, Ouin, I finally got around to writing this chapter. I wanted to show off my advancement in writing through this chapter. Now that school is almost out, I should have more time for the next chapter. Thank you for sticking with me and I hope you truly enjoy this chapter and review! Thanks.

* * *

3:45 PM, Saturday afternoon.

"Fifteen more minutes? You can't be serious!" Squall Leonhart exclaimed, his quick typing becoming more frantic.

Kairi plopped down in the seat beside him and keyed in the last few words of her paper. "I'm done!" she proclaimed in relief as she hurriedly clicked the print button and went to the printer to retrieve her paper.

Leon thought for a quick second before typing the final words of his paper. "He can just kiss my ass. I'm just going to turn this in and deal with whatever I get," Leon decided aloud as he clicked the print button and rushed to the printer.

Sora and Riku accompanied the stressed-out college students and left alongside them to go turn their papers in.

Five minutes later, they arrived outside the crowded room. Students lingered against the wall outside the locked room with cell phones, papers, and other personal belongings in their hands. All of the young adults awaited the appearance of one important figure. At exactly 4:00 PM, the professor showed up and unlocked his door.

"Place your papers in a neat stack on my desk and you may exit!" the professor shouted as many students hectically moved in and out of the classroom.

As chaos ensued, Riku and Sora waited and watched as Kairi and Leon hastily turned their papers in.

"I'm glad that's over," Kairi said once they were all outside the building.

"Now we get a whole week away from him," Leon commented, referring to their professor as he walked to his car alongside Kairi, Sora, and Riku who were discussing the best place to eat lunch. Just as Leon was about to unlock his car, a girl shouted at him from afar.

"Lee-on!" called Ashy Carter, Leon's almost-girlfriend.

Leon grinned and waved at his friends as he ran off to catch up with Ashy, "See you guys later!"

"They make a cute couple," Kairi remarked as she now made her way to her own car. Deciding to go get lunch with the redhead, Riku and Sora followed, and together, the two men got into the backseat of Kairi's car. For once, Sora did not mind Kairi driving. He had Riku to protect him, after all.

"I hope Leon decides on whether or not he wants to stay with Ashy or not," Riku wondered aloud with a sigh as Kairi started her car.

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned, curiously.

"About a week ago, Leon got a call from his ex," Riku began, putting his hand on Sora's and stroking the back of younger man's hand affectionately.

"And now he doesn't know which girl to choose?" Sora assumed, sitting still as Riku spoke and gently ran his finger over the back of Sora's left hand.

"Yes and no. He doesn't know whether to choose Ashy, or return to… him," Riku explained, emphasizing his last word.

"Him?" Kairi and Sora repeated in unison, exchanging expressions of confusion.

"Two years ago," Riku continued, "back in high school, Leon had a boyfriend. One who he lost his virginity too for they were truly in love with one another."

"What was his name?" Kairi asked in astonishment.

"Cloud. Cloud Strife," Riku answered memories of the past coming to life in his mind. "Cloud loved Leon more than anyone ever had."

"What happened to their relationship?" Sora finally questioned as Kairi turned into a restaurant for lunch.

"One day, Cloud got a letter from a college he had been dreaming of going to for years. When Leon found out, he broke up with Cloud because he could not bear to have a long distance relationship," Riku finished as Kairi stopped in front of the restaurant and unlocked her car doors to let Riku and Sora out.

Sora and Kairi both sighed in response to the sad story when Riku finished speaking.

"You guys go ahead and enjoy your date. I'm going to go shopping at the mall and I'll grab lunch there," Kairi told the two men as they were exiting her vehicle.

"If you're sure," Sora checked before letting Kairi go and accompanying Riku to enter the building.

"One table for two, preferably a booth," Riku requested from the server inside the restaurant.

The server nodded and introduced himself as "Draxk" before showing them to a booth in the non-smoking section of the restaurant. Sora and Riku sat down facing one another as the server asked the men what they preferred to drink.

"Coke is fine," Sora answered.

"Make it two," Riku said after, smiling at Sora.

Sora blushed, glancing down at the table. Even though he felt more comfortable around Riku, he was still nervous around him at times.

The waiter brought plates and a basket of complimentary breadsticks along with the drinks the men had ordered. He then asked the two about what they wanted to eat. The men placed their orders and the server left to fill them.

Sora picked up a breadstick and nibbled on the end of it. Riku sat still, admiring the younger man as he ate.

"You look adorable when you eat," Riku commented in a mesmerized tone.

Sora just blushed and continued to eat the breadstick.

* * *

Meanwhile, Squall Leonhart and Ashy Carter were finishing a small lunch of their own inside Leon's vivacious apartment. Upon finishing lunch, Ashy excused herself to go to the restroom and freshen up. As soon as Ashy left, the doorbell rang.

Leon, in happiness about Ashy, practically danced over to the door. To his dismay, what waited him was not something to dance about. Leon opened the door to see Cloud Strife grinning back at him. In surprise, Leon quickly shut the door, as if what he had seen was just a bad nightmare and the noise of the door shutting would wake him. Instead, Cloud caught the door before it shut and reopened it.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Cloud asked coolly.

Flustered, Leon could do no more than nod and step back, allowing his former lover into his house. The house he had just enjoyed a pleasant afternoon in with his new girlfriend, Ashy Carter. Ashy Carter who was still in the house. She could not see Cloud in Leon's apartment! Not until Leon explained his past life to her, anyway.

Leon quickly calmed himself and managed to say, "Won't you have a seat? We can chat in the living room, follow me."

At the sound of Leon's voice, Cloud smiled and followed him to the other room. "Nice place," Cloud commented as they entered the living room.

Leon nodded in thanks and gestured for Cloud to take a seat. "Stay here. I'll go get some refreshments," Leon told the blonde haired man before leaving to go back to the kitchen and figure out how to keep Ashy from seeing Cloud.

As Leon poured some juice into two glasses, Ashy hugged him from behind. "Miss me?" she joked, sweetly.

Startled, Squall almost spilled the juice he was pouring. He took a breath and turned around to face Ashy. The younger girl kissed Leon, holding him close and not asking about the doorbell or the two glasses of juice on the counter. Lovingly, she just kissed him and assumed that the doorbell was unimportant and the glasses were for the two of them.

Leon broke the kiss and tried to act normal. Although Ashy had ignored the doorbell, the sudden nervousness Leon displayed was not something she went without noticing.

"Are you okay, Leon?" Ashy asked in her light accent.

Leon decided to figure out a way to get Ashy to leave his home without directly telling her to. The only idea that came to mind was to make Ashy think he was unwell, "Actually, I don't feel so good."

"Is there anything I can do to help, darling?" Ashy questioned worried about the man she liked so much.

"I am probably just tired from doing all that work earlier," Leon lied. "You shouldn't worry about it though."

"You are right! That must be it. You should get some rest, and I should leave so you can do that. Leon, I really enjoyed our lunch together; we should do it again sometime soon," Ashy told him, giving him a kiss on his cheek and heading towards the door.

"Don't leave… I'll be okay," Leon protested.

"No. You need your rest, don't argue. I am going to leave and that's that," Ashy replied, giving Leon one final hug before opening the door and exiting his apartment.

A few seconds after Ashy departed, Leon finished pouring the drinks and carried them to the living room.

Cloud took one of the cups from Leon's hands and set it down on the table in front of him. "I see you got yourself a pretty girlfriend," stated Cloud his tone unchanging from earlier.

The dark haired man tensed at Cloud's words and replied simply, "Yes, thanks."

"Leon," began Cloud, "have a seat, beside me."

Without thinking, Leon obeyed the younger man's request and sat down. To Cloud's dismay, Leon just stared at the ground, his expression unfluctuating.

"You haven't changed a bit since we last spoke," Cloud thought aloud, trying to get Leon to converse with him.

* * *

While Cloud and Leon were being reacquainted, Sora and Riku had just finished their lunch and were taking a long walk back to the school where Riku's car was.

"Riku, there is something that has been on my mind lately," Sora started.

"What's bugging you?" inquired Riku, squeezing the younger man's hand in his own.

Sora tried to phrase his thoughts into a coherent sentence, staying close to Riku as they neared the college parking lot. "I am just curious as to why you chose me instead of all the other men in the world."

Without hesitating, Riku responded, "You are my missing piece, Sora."

Sora smiled at the older man's words and slipped closer to his side. Riku wrapped an arm around the brunette's shoulders and together, they continued to walk to the campus parking lot.

* * *

As the main characters were enjoying a walk to transportation, Cloud had been trying to get Leon to say something, anything, to him. For the past hour or so, Cloud had failed in getting more than five words to come out of the older man's mouth. In actuality, Leon was afraid to be reacquainted with the painful memories that still held in his thoughts. After he had split up with Cloud, Leon had promised himself he would not go back to the man who had broken his heart. Unfortunately, the prodding blonde had other plans.

"Do you remember, back in high school, when we went to the Sadie Hawkins Day dance together?" Cloud reminisced aloud, a smile forming on his lips.

Leon could not help but grin at the replay of the events of the dance from his past; however, he continued to hide his face from Cloud and simply nodded at the question.

Cloud decided to tell the story even though he was quite sure Leon was reliving it in his mind. "It was a cold, winter evening and you were dressed in a button down black shirt, and I was in blue. I remember because we got dressed together at my house and my mom kept saying that we complimented each other so well," Cloud recalled, laughing and shaking his head at the past.

Before Cloud said another word, Leon interrupted, "Cloud."

Cloud pretended not to be phased by Leon's spoken word and replied casually, "Yes?"

"Why are you here?" Leon asked, finally looking up and facing Cloud.

The blonde had expected the question to come up before he set foot in the older man's home. To his dislike, Cloud did not expect the tone of the question to be as it was, tired and calm. After a short pause, Cloud delivered his prepared, straightforward answer, "I missed you, Leon."

Leon sustained looking at Cloud, his expression unchanging until Cloud kissed him.

* * *

It was late afternoon and the campus parking lot was fairly vacant. After the long walk to the car, Riku decided to just settle in the back seat of his car and avoid separating himself from the younger man's embrace. Every moment Riku spent with Sora was something he wanted to capture and never let go.

Riku and Sora relaxed in the backseat of the car. They had been stationary for almost ten minutes and were holding each other close in the backseat of the automobile. Occasionally they would say a word or two, but nothing that broke the aura that filled the air in the car.

Sora closed his eyes and buried his head in Riku's warm chest. To Riku, this was what he had dreamed about since he first laid eyes on the brunette. The feeling of Sora's body so close to his own; nevertheless, was unlike anything he had ever imagined before.

Dee do dee.

Riku ignored the tone of his cellular device coming from his front pocket. He did not want to let a phone call interrupt the wonderful time he was having with Sora. Although Sora was enjoying the moment to his full heart's content, his fair mind felt it was wrong to let a phone go ringing unless he was half-asleep and refused to answer. Blushing as he did so, Sora slipped his fingers into Riku's front pant's pocket and retrieved the older man's cell phone.

Sora flipped the phone open and answered, "Hello?"

"Riku?" April's voice questioned from the other end.

"This is Sora, can I take a message?" said Sora, politely.

"Did I catch you two at a bad time?" April inquired, giggling. "I was just wondering what Riku was up to but I see that I don't need to ask. I'll talk to him later, thanks Sora."

Sora shut the phone and glanced at Riku who was sitting still with his eyes closed. The younger man decided to move on and placed the phone back in Riku's pocket and gently ran his fingertips over the back of Riku's hand.

"We should get going. After all, we promised to have dinner together," Sora said with a grin, pulling away from Riku's embrace and going to get into the passenger seat of the car.

Before Sora made it into the seat, Riku opened his eyes and pulled the younger man back against his body. The silver-haired man held Sora close and breathed in his scent.

"Riku…" Sora mumbled, muffled against Riku.

Riku picked Sora up and set him upright beside him. "I don't feel like dinner tonight, Sora," he said, running his hand along the nape of Sora's neck.

A shiver shot up Sora's spine as he struggled to straighten himself up and keep his scarlet cheeks down to a minimum. Riku leaned in and pressed his lips against the younger man's who did not protest the action in the slightest way.

As the kiss deepened, clothes began to be removed from the bodies they occupied. The men's bodies pressed tightly against one another as the ardent moment commenced. The clean slates that once characterized the men's state were now unchaste and replaced with their true showing of affection for one another.

* * *

Leon broke the kiss, staring at the younger man before him. "I can't do this, Cloud," he said solemnly.

To prevent himself from becoming emotionally stirred, Cloud focused his eyes away from Leon. "I knew this would be difficult," he thought aloud.

"I promised myself after the first time that I wouldn't go back to you and now I have an amazing girlfriend… things have changed, Cloud," Leon told the younger man.

"Things are always changing, Leon, I know. It's just that I was hoping you would at least give me another chance…" Cloud spoke, trailing off.

_Should I give him another chance? Or should I stay with Ashy?_

* * *

"I love you, Sora," Riku said while parking his car in front of Sora's dorm building.

After the men lost their virginity, they had decided that it was getting late and they needed to leave the parking lot before anyone caught them. Now, Sora was lying on the backseat, sore from his encounter with Riku.

"I love you too, Riku," Sora whispered back, sitting up carefully to get out of the car.

Riku opened the door for his lover, helping Sora out and shutting the door behind him. "Should I carry you?" he joked.

"Yes," Sora moaned without hesitation.

Riku laughed as he picked Sora up and carried him into the dorm building and to his door. Once they were at the door, Riku gently let Sora down and made sure he could stand up.

"Next time, it won't hurt so much," Riku promised.

Dee do dee.

Riku sighed as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello, Grandma," Riku answered casually.

Sora smiled as Riku conversed with his grandmother. So much had happened in the past day that made him realize why he always felt out of place in the world. It's like Riku had told him after lunch, _"You are my missing piece, Sora." _And Riku was just that to Sora.

After saying goodbye to Rayne, Riku snapped his phone shut and looked at the beauty in front of him with a grin. "I would love to stay, but Rayne has tickets to go see this concert and I forgot she invited me weeks ago. Can I reschedule our dinner date?"

Sora nodded and with a final kiss, the two men parted for the evening.

Sora fiddled with his keys for a second before letting himself into his dorm. Axel sat on the couch flipping through the channels on the television and when the door opened and closed, the red-haired man looked up at his roommate.

"How was it?" he questioned immediately, turning the television off and standing to walk over to Sora.

Sora blushed. How did Axel seem to know everything before any words ever escaped Sora's lips? Before Sora could respond, however, Axel answered his own question.

"Try to lube up next time; it won't be so bad."

Sora blushed at the red-haired man's comment and waddled over to the couch. "Why do you care so much about whether or not I'm in pain anyway?" Sora wondered aloud.

Axel grinned at the younger man and stepped in front of the couch that Sora had just managed to sit down on. "Even though I don't always come off like it, I do care about you, Sora," Axel told the brunette.

Sora's cheeks reddened for a second time as Axel sat down beside him on the couch.

"Now I am sure you want to ask me for some help to improve your future experiences with sex, but I have a date with my lover tonight," Axel said, pinching Sora's cheek playfully. "Take a nice bath; it should help calm your nerves. I won't be back until tomorrow afternoon, got it memorized? Good." With those final words, Axel stood up and exited the dorm room.

Sora took a deep breath and repositioned himself so he was lying on the couch and facing the ceiling. What a long day.

* * *

"Oh, Leon," Cloud sighed as Leon carried the younger man into his bedroom. "I missed this."

After trying to resist Cloud for so many hours, Leon finally fell for the blonde after having dinner with him. For dessert, the two men had ice cream and Leon could not help but stare at the younger man as he licked ice cream off his spoon. Along with the tension that had been building up, the way Cloud ate his ice cream had aroused him so much that now Leon was carrying Cloud into his room and setting him down on his bed.

"Why can't I resist you?" Leon asked the younger man before pressing his lips roughly against Cloud's mouth.

Cloud deepened the kiss and pulled the older man on top of him. Breaking the kiss, Cloud answered, "Because no matter how hard you try, I will always try harder to win your affection. I'll never stop loving you, Leon…"

Leon could not help but smile at the younger man before kissing him for a second time. The seconds ticked by quickly as things between the two men got hot and heavy. What started as a simple kiss was soon to become an intimate showing of their true love for one another.

"Oh, Leon," Cloud gasped as Leon pulled the younger man's pants off.

Leon grasped the younger man in his arms and gazed straight into his eyes. "I love you," Leon whispered before pressing his lips against Cloud's again.

The moment became fiercer as the two men's erections rubbed against one another through their underwear. Wanting more, Leon teased the elastic waistband of Cloud's boxers. The younger man sighed from the pleasure of the older man's touch against his waist as the waistband of his boxers was tugged.

"Cloud… I'm sorry," Leon said between kisses.

Cloud just kissed the older man back before telling him, "You don't have to be sorry about a thing. I understand, Leon, and I love you."

Before the older man could respond or get further into having intercourse with Cloud, Leon heard the sound of his front door clicking shut.

_Who is at the door? _

"Leon?" called Ashy Carter's voice from inside Squall Leonhart's apartment. "I brought you some dinner."

"Oh shit," Leon said as Cloud was about to take off the older man's boxers.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, too into Leon to have noticed Ashy's voice.

"You have to hide," Leon quickly told him, trying to straighten the bed around Cloud who was still clinging to him.

Meanwhile, Ashy was putting together a plate to microwave for Leon. As she finished piling the food onto the dish, she opened the microwave and set the timer before placing the plate inside to heat.

Back in Leon's bedroom, Leon was frantically moving around the bed while Cloud leaned against Leon's bedpost in only his boxers.

"Leon," Cloud began as the older man grabbed a bottle of air freshening spray and sprayed the air.

"What?" Leon practically shouted at the solitary man posed against his bedside. "Sorry," he apologized immediately not wanting to upset Cloud.

Cloud nodded in understanding and told Leon, "Look, I love you and all but sooner or later, you are going to have to choose between her or me. I don't want you dating both of us and I am sure she doesn't either."

"I will, Cloud. When the time is right," Leon answered automatically.

"No, Leon. You have to tell her about me," Cloud protested.

"I know, but-" Squall started, immediately interrupted by Cloud.

"But nothing, Leon. You HAVE to tell her. As soon as possible," Cloud told him.

Beeeeep.

The microwave sounded from the kitchen. Leon looked at Cloud with pleading eyes and said a simple word, "Hide."

Instead of hiding, Cloud hopped back onto the bed and crossed his arms on his chest. "No," he objected.

"Cloud, not now. Please, just hide," Leon begged.

"Why? This would be the perfect time for you to tell her about me," Cloud pointed out, remaining still on the bed.

Leon tried to pull Cloud by his arm to get him to move, and yet nothing. The younger man would not budge.

"Fine. I'll tell her… just hide," Leon requested again.

"Promise me you will, and I will be happy to do exactly that," Cloud replied.

Leon sat down on the bed beside Cloud and took his hand. "I promise, Cloud. I will tell her all about you."

"Good," Cloud said with a smile.

"Now, HIDE!" Leon said, gently shoving Cloud away from him and getting under the covers to act as though he had been sleeping the entire time.

Cloud kissed the older man's lips a final time and hopped out of the bed. Just as Cloud got off the bed and Leon settled under the covers, the door knob turned.

* * *

**Author's Note:** You know I HAD to stick in a cliff-hanger right?

And now it is time for a GendenCo. original production! O:

**Roxas: **Hey Sora!**  
Sora: **SUPBROLOLOLOLOLOL?111**  
Roxas:** ... No. So did you hear?**  
Sora: **Hear what?**  
Roxas:** About the speed Riku was chasing you on a bicycle he stole?**  
Axel:** -pops out of Roxas' pants- YEAH. He had 30-inch-diameter tires rotating at an angular speed of 8pi radians per second!**  
Sora:** -blank stare- /huh/? Is... that... good?**  
Roxas:** Oh. I don't know. It's just what we heard.**  
Sora:** ...

**Later**

**Kairi:** SORA! Guess what! Did you hear?**  
Sora:** Yeah, yeah. Tires... pi...**  
Kairi:** No! Riku just sped by here!**  
Sora:** ! What? He did?**  
Kairi:** Yeah! It sounded like he was yelling, "The kid flugging rigged those braaaaaaaaaaakes!" before he got out of ear range.**  
Sora: **oo;;

End.

Again, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

As Always:** Read and Review!** O:


	12. Chapter 12: The Awakenings

**Always There**  
The Awakenings

**Author's Note: **Happy Mother's Day! As usual, I apologize for the long delay in writing and posting this chapter. Senior Year has been speeding by and has been the busiest year I've ever had thus far. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

Instead of hiding, Cloud hopped back onto the bed and crossed his arms across his chest. "No," he objected.

"Cloud, not now. Please, just hide," Leon begged.

"Why? This would be the perfect time for you to tell her about me," Cloud pointed out, remaining on the bed.

Leon tried to pull Cloud by his arm to get him to move, and yet the man did nothing. The younger man would not budge.

"Fine. I'll tell her... just hide," Leon requested again.

"Promise me you will, and I will be happy to do exactly that," Cloud replied.

Leon sat down beside Cloud on the bed and took his hand. "I promise, Cloud. I will tell her all about you."

"Good," Cloud said with a smile.

"Now, HIDE!" Leon said, gently shoving Cloud away from him and getting under the covers to act as if he had been sleeping the entire time.

Cloud kissed the older man's lips a final time and hopped out of the bed. Just as Cloud got off the bed and Leon settled under the covers, the doorknob turned.

Completely unaware of the frantic movements that had just occurred, Ashy stepped into Leon's room. She was holding a tray with warm tomato soup in her hand and her face held a pleasant smile. "Are you awake, Leon?"

Pretending as he had been asleep the entire time, Leon opened her eyes slowly and glanced up at Ashy. Deep down, Leon was breathing a huge sigh of relief. Relief that Ashy had not seen Cloud and had no idea what had been going on, yet.

"Thank you, Ashy," Squall acknowledged, sitting up in his bed and gesturing for Ashy to come closer.

Ashy nodded and gently set the tray of food down on the dresser beside Leon's bed. "I thought you might be hungry. Are you feeling better?" she asked sincerely, concerned for Leon's well-being.

Leon moved to one side of the bed and gestured for Ashy to accompany him in the space he just created for her. "Much better. Honestly, I think I just needed some sleep."

Ashy sat down beside Leon and wrapped her arms around him, "I'm glad. I was worried about you."

Leon felt a surge of guilt seeping through his body. _She cares about you, a lot. Don't hurt her._ Leon felt himself internally arguing with his conscience as he held Ashy close to him. "Don't worry now, I'm fine," he reassured her.

Ashy pulled back from the embrace and stared at Leon for a moment before seeing beyond his carefully composed expression. "Are you sure you're okay? I feel as if there is something you aren't telling me."

_Don't hurt her._ Leon's conscience continued to taunt him as he looked back at Ashy. "Nothing is wrong. Trust me." _Liar. Don't hurt her, whatever you do._

"If you say so," Ashy said, wrapping her arms back around Leon and smiling sweetly at the man she liked so much.

For a moment, Leon and Ashy remained this way, in each other's arms, unaware of their surroundings. Finally, Leon decided it was time to face the truth. He had to make his decision.

'Ashy, I-" Leon began, Ashy in turn giving her full attention.

"Yes, Leon?" she asked innocently in her light accent.

Instead of speaking, Leon closed the space between them and kissed Ashy as he never had before. His lips moved slowly against hers, his emotions fighting inside of him. _Don't hurt her_. His conscious continued to remind him.

Soon enough, Leon broke the kiss, gazing deeply into Ashy's chestnut brown eyes. "Ashy, I really like you, and I want you to know something..."

Meanwhile, Cloud was lying flat on his back underneath Leon's bed. He listened intently to what Leon was saying, hearing the hurt in his tone. Cloud could not stand for Leon to be in pain. He knew that Leon truly cared about Ashy and also knew that Leon deserved her.

"I like you a lot as well, Leon," Ashy told him, a curious expression on her face after realizing Leon's tone had changed significantly. "What's wrong?" she suddenly asked.

"I want to know about an important part of my li-" Leon started to say before he was interrupted by a kick of the bed by Cloud who was trying to get Leon's attention. Knowing whom it was, Leon looked at Ashy as if he had not heard anything, though he knew she most likely had.

"What was that?" Ashy expectantly questioned.

"The air vents in my room have been having this problem lately," Leon quickly lied. "Hold on a moment, darling," he told her, letting her go and climbing off his bed.

"Your food is cold, I'll go reheat it while you fix your vent," Ashy said, getting up and leaving with the tray of food in her hand as if someone had climbed into her mind and told her to leave at that precise moment.

"What the hell are you doing?" Leon asked Cloud as soon as he heard the bedroom door click closed.

Cloud came out from under Leon's bed and leaned casually against his wall. "Don't hurt her, Leon."

Leon's eyes widened as the words his conscience had been repeating came out of the blond-haired man's mouth. "But, Cloud-"

"But, nothing. As much as I love you, Leon, that girl-Ashy-she is someone that you need to stick with. She loves you now and what we had was in the past. I was silly to think I could intrude upon your life and get you back so simply. I was selfish, I wanted to hurt someone in the process of rebuilding what we had, Leon. I still love you but I don't want to ruin what you have with Ashy to get what I want," Cloud confessed, looking directly into Leon's eyes as he did so, his expression unfaltering.

"No, Cloud. I like Ashy and all, but, I want to be with you..." Leon said, trailing off.

Cloud stared at Leon in disbelief. A smile suddenly spread on his lips as he took Leon's hand in his own. "Do you really mean that?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly as he did.

"Yes, Cloud. I've missed you more than you have me. I want you back; I want **us** back," Leon told the younger man, squeezing Cloud's hand in his own to emphasize his last sentence.

Cloud's mouth opened slightly as he was surprised by the events that had just occurred. "Kiss me, Leon."

Without hesitating, Leon pulled Cloud against him and pressed his lips against the blonde's. Cloud deepened the kiss, and wrapped his arms around the older man.

CRASH!

The two men broke their kiss and looked up to see Ashy Carter standing at the doorway, the tray she had been holding now all over the floor.

* * *

Waiting patiently for his grandmother, Riku leaned against the back of the couch in his living room, thoughts of Sora running in and out of his mind.

"Ready, Riku?" Rayne asked, putting in an earring in her ear and dusting herself off as a finishing mark.

Riku looked up and smiled at his grandmother, "Yes, you look stunning as always, grandma."

"Thank you, Riku. Let me drive tonight? I have a friend I want to pick up before we go," Rayne informed Riku.

"A friend?" Riku questioned, opening the front door of their home for Rayne.

Rayne stepped outside and Riku closed the door behind them. "Yes, you know her better than I do," Rayne replied, smiling.

"It isn't April is it?" Riku guessed.

Rayne nodded with a grin, starting the car after the two of them had gotten inside of her car. Riku leaned back against his seat and relaxed as his grandmother drove the two of them to April's house. When they arrived, April waved goodbye to her mother and left her house quickly, running over to the vehicle and opening the back door.

"Hey guys!" April greeted, getting into the car and closing the door.

Rayne and Riku both replied with their own welcomes and Rayne started the car and began driving to the concert hall.

"This should be a pleasant evening. The group we are going to listen to is very interesting. Their voices are incredibly soothing," Rayne explained, smiling at the thought of the band they were going to see.

Riku and April listened intently as Rayne drove and continued to speak of the music group for the next few moments. Eventually the discussion ventured off. The concert hall was further than Riku thought and sleep seemed to call him especially since he had had several restless nights lately because constant thoughts about Sora had prevented him from being able to sleep. In a matter of minutes, Riku had fallen asleep as April and Rayne now discussed a television show they both enjoyed.

"Aww! Look at him, Rayne. He's so adorable when she sleeps," April sweetly remarked.

Rayne glanced over at her grandson and smiled, "He really is. I'm so happy to see him so relaxed. Sora is working wonders, no offense to you, April."

April nodded in agreement, "I completely understand. Sora is perfect for him; I was just a push in the right direction for him."

As April and Rayne went back to their discussions, Riku's dreams began to evolve and quickly turn to Sora...

* * *

Sora was sitting on the couch doing some of his college work when Axel suddenly stormed into the apartment and slammed the door behind him. The brunette's eyes widened at Axel's raging presence.

"What's wro-" Sora began to say before Axel immediately cut him off by putting his hand up in front of him.

"Roxas," Axel said, his eyes seeming to blaze at the name.

"What did he do?" Sora asked, curious as to how the seemingly perfect relationship could be harmed.

Axel just clenched his fists in front of him and then dropped them down to his side. He took a deep breath and tried to relax. "I went over to his apartment early, to surprise him before our date tonight... and he was there... w-with another guy."

Sora's mouth gaped open in shock at Axel's words, seeing the pain in the older man's eyes. "Sit down, Axel. It'll be okay, calm down."

Axel sighed and took a seat beside Sora who was putting all of his books aside to focus his attention on the redhead.

"I can't believe Roxas would do a thing like that," Sora mumbled to himself.

Axel looked at Sora with hurt in his eyes. "I never thought it was possible either. What was I missing? I thought I gave him everything he could ever want."

Sora put a hand on Axel's shoulder, "It'll be okay, Axel. I'm sure there is some logical explanation as to why Roxas would ever cheat on you."

At those words, Axel let out a loud sob. "I still love him," he cried, his breathing uneven and his words coming out between breaths.

"Did he see you when you caught him?" Sora questioned, trying to get all of the details of the story.

Axel took a deep breath to calm his nerves long enough to respond, "I'm not sure. I sort of ran when I saw it. I just couldn't take it."

Sora could not believe the state Axel had been reduced to in such a short time. He was finally seeing the true heart behind the normally carefree and sarcastic person.

"He was the only person I ever loved. He made me feel... like I was complete," Axel said before crying again.

"It's not over yet. There must be some explanation, Axel," Sora reassured the older man.

"But what if there isn't one?" Axel snapped. "... Sorry, Sora. I'm just a bit on edge at the moment."

"It's okay. I don't know, Axel. But I know Roxas loves you, I am sure of that. You guys are the reason I ever even thought to give Riku a chance. Give myself a chance... and look at where I am now. I'm in love with him, Axel. As you are with Roxas. It'll be okay soon," Sora told him.

With teary-eyes, Axel looked up at Sora gratefully. "Thanks, Sora. I don't exactly feel better right now, but I'm getting there."

Sora smiled, leaned forward, and hugged Axel. "Anytime. What are roommates for other than flirting?" Sora replied trying to lighten the mood.

Axel smiled weakly at Sora's comment and then frowned when he felt his phone go off. Axel knew the familiar personalized combination of beeps and vibrations he felt. Roxas had texted him. Axel pulled his phone out and pressed a button on his touch keypad to open the message. "Where are you?" he read out loud, looking up at Sora after he finished.

Sora thought to himself for a moment and said, "I think the best thing for you to do is just directly tell him what you saw. There is no need to code it, Axel. It might hurt at first, but, it's the best way of finding out what was really going on."

Axel nodded and gave Sora a quick pat on his shoulder before calling Roxas and leaving the living room area to go to his room.

A few minutes later, the phone rang.

"Hello?" Sora answered.

"Sora, it's your mother," Seiya replied cheerfully. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Um, nothing really, I guess. I was going to help Riku with some of his college work, why?"

"Well, I got you a job," Seiya responded.

"You did what?" Sora said in shock.

"A job. Remember how you said you would pay for the dorm? Well, you need a job to do that. You start tomorrow afternoon at 3 at Marluxia's, that cute little restaurant in the city. Your uniform is already there and all you need is to make sure you get yourself there on time. Maybe that cute roommate of yours could take you?" Seiya suggested.

Sora was speechless, he could not believe what his mother had just done behind his back. "Mom... I er-"

"Great. Be there on time, love you!" Seiya said before hanging up.

Meanwhile, Axel was returning to the living room and sitting down beside Sora. Noticing Sora's change of expression, Axel calmly asked, "Something exciting happen?"

Sora blinked at Axel for a moment, wondering why he seemed so relaxed and normal now. "In a sense, I suppose. Do you know where Marluxia's is?"

Axel smirked, "It's my favorite restaurant. Do you want to go to dinner?"

"Not exactly. My mom got me a job there, I start working tomorrow. I need a ride, actually," Sora answered truthfully.

"Only if you'll go with me to dinner tonight. It doesn't have to be Marluxia's, just dinner," Axel told the younger man with a grin.

Sora opened his mouth to question Axel's sudden change in behavior, but stopped himself and decided not to worry about it at that moment. Axel would surely explain when the time was right. Along with that thought, Sora's stomach was starting to remind him of just how long it had been since he had last eaten. "Sure, Axel. I'm starving."

Axel smiled and hugged the younger man. "Thank you, Sora."

Sora was taken back by Axel's gesture at first but then he wrapped his arms around the older man and welcomed his embrace.

* * *

"Ashy, I can explain," Leon quickly said after seeing Ashy at the doorway.

Cloud stepped back and sat down on Leon's bed, deciding it was best for him to stay out of what was about to follow.

"You betrayed me..." Ashy said softly, taking a step back out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Ashy. I was trying to explain before and I just couldn't... and I'm really sorry," Leon pleaded, taking slow steps towards Ashy.

Ashy took another step back, "I am too. Goodbye, Leon."

With those words, Ashy turned and ran out of the apartment, tears in her eyes.

"Ashy!" Leon called after her pathetically as he reached out as though to catch her before she left.

"I'm sorry, Leon," Cloud calmly said, ready to be the shoulder for Leon to lean upon.

Leon turned around, running his fingers through his own hair and looking at Cloud. "What do I do?" he questioned aloud, stepping towards his bed and sitting down on the edge.

Cloud leaned forward and gently stroked Leon's back, trying to comfort him, "I'm not sure, Leon. Honestly, she seemed fairly final with you. Sorry."

Leon lay back and stared at the ceiling. "Yeah, I suppose you are right. I wish I knew how to fix things with her. I don't want to lose her completely."

"I'm sure something will hit you soon. Just try to relax for a while," Cloud told the older man, leaning back against one of Leon's pillows and putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

Leon continued to stare at his ceiling, as if it would provide him with a solution to his concerns. He was having a hard time relaxing as Cloud advised.

"Leon, are you okay?" Cloud asked, noticeably concerned.

"I'll be fine, eventually," Leon replied monotonously, turning away from Cloud on the bed and closing his eyes.

* * *

"Riii-ku..." April gently cooed, trying to wake the silver-haired man as they approached the concert hall at last.

Riku stirred a bit but continued to sleep, Sora ran through his mind continuously.

"Riku... " April attempted again.

Smiling, Riku opened his eyes slowly. "How may I help you?" he asked with a grin.

April giggled and rolled her eyes at Riku's greeting, "We are here, Riku. Rayne just got out and left, she's waiting on us. I wonder what you were dreaming about to make you so... giddy."

"Sora. I can't stop thinking about that amazing brunette... his eyes... his lips..." Riku said dreamily, closing his eyes at the thought of his features.

"Wow, Riku. Details! What exactly did you two do today?" April asked excitedly, forgetting about the concert for a moment.

"Later, I wouldn't want to keep Rayne waiting," Riku said as he opened his eyes again and grinned at April as he stepped out of the car with her.

April sighed and followed Riku, walking alongside the older man towards the entrance of the concert hall. When they caught up with Rayne, the trio went inside and located their seats in the hall.

"What great seats, Rayne!" April commented, enjoying her view of the stage from the fifth row.

Rayne nodded at April and turned back to face the stage, awaiting the grand entrance of the performance group, "The Organization."

"Ladies and Gentleman! It is now time for what you have all been waiting for... please join me in welcoming... THE ORGANIZATION!" the announcer's booming voice exclaimed over the sound system.

The crowd burst into applause and cheers as the band appeared on the stage kicking off their show with a guitar solo.

Riku, Rayne, and April stood and cheered along with the rest of the audience as the band played one song after the other. A couple of hours later, the concert was over, and Riku and April now had a new favorite musical group.

* * *

Sora looked at himself in front of the mirror. He had truly changed since the beginning of the semester. He looked the same, but deep down, he was very different. Sora ran a comb through his hair once more and buttoned the red shirt he had decided to wear up. He checked his appearance once more and left his bedroom, stepping back into the living room to see Axel standing casually in their small kitchen wearing a green dress shirt with a pair of black dress pants. As always, Axel looked stunning, his normal confidence glowing more than ever.

"Ready?" asked Axel, looking Sora up and down. "You look nice."

Sora could not help but blush, "Sure, I guess. You look nice too."

Axel smirked at the younger man's awkward response and then proceeded to lead the way out of the apartment, opening the door for Sora and then leaving with him.

"So, where did you decide you wanted to eat?" Sora asked once they had settled in Axel's sleek car.

"How about Olive Garden?" Axel questioned in return. "I'm in the mood for some pasta tonight."

Sora nodded and surveyed Axel's expression carefully. He had no idea how the phone call with Roxas had went, or whether or not Axel was truly as okay as he seemed. Sora felt it would be rude to ask about it and decided to let Axel tell him about the phone call whenever he was ready. Perhaps things did not go well and this was Axel's way of grieving.

"Honestly, I'm just really hungry and don't care where we eat," Sora added a few moments later as Axel drove.

With a chuckle, Axel turned into Olive Garden's parking lot and parked his car. "I also didn't feel like driving far," Axel said referring to the short distance they had just traveled.

Sora smiled at the older man and walked with him to the doors of the restaurant. Axel looped his arm into the younger man's playfully and entered the restaurant with him. Sora blushed at Axel's gesture as Axel got the two a table. The waiter walked the two men to their table and gave them two menus. After taking their drink orders, the waiter left the two to decide on what they wanted to eat. Axel moved his menu aside without giving it one look and put his elbows on the table, resting his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" Sora questioned.

Axel nodded and gave the younger man a smile, "Thank you for accompanying me to dinner. I hope this isn't uncomfortable for you..."

"Not at all, Axel. I mean, we need to get to know each other anyway, right? It's about time we have dinner outside of that apartment," Sora truthfully told Axel.

"I'm glad you feel that way. You know, when they told me I was going to get a roommate, I never thought my roommate would be anything like you," Axel said, thinking aloud.

"Oh?" Sora asked, raising a brow at the older man over his menu. "Is that bad?"

"Definitely not. You are better than I expected. You... care in a way that isn't overbearing. Riku is truly lucky to have you, Sora," Axel said, looking at Sora intently.

Sora attempted to hide his red cheeks behind his menu as he tried to focus on the meal choices, "T-thanks, Axel."

Axel gave Sora a knowing smile, "Ha, anytime. I love seeing you blush."

With those last words, Sora's cheeks were brighter than ever.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Let me remind everyone that I do not own anything in this story. XD I know, this should be at the beginning, but I felt like changing things up to fit the mood of the chapters and the new paths everyone seems to be heading towards. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Leave a review! O:

And now, as usual: An Original Parody by my wonderful editor: April! =]

**Riku:** [standing at podium, giving a speech at the National Convention] There is fear that lurks among us, and there is only one answer! The door has opened. The door has opened, citizens! Once we go through, there may be no coming back. We may never see this age again... but I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of the CHANGE I can bring us! [extends hand to audience]

[crowd cheers like crazy]

**Sora:** [eyes narrow] I feel like I've heard this before...

Later that night...

**Riku: **So Sora, were you impressed today?

**Sora:** I guess...

**Riku:** You guess? I thought you'd be more surprised... [wraps arm around Sora and pulls close]

**Sora:** ... what?

**Riku: **My articulation, my body language... my diction!

**Sora: **[blushes] uh—well—

**Riku:** [pounces]

CENSORED.

... and so that's how the Presidential Candidate got his first vote.

Leave a review! Thanks!


	13. Chapter 13: The Confrontation

**Always There  
**The Confrontation

**Disclaimer: **Although I haven't posted a chapter in a long time, I still do not own anything related to Kingdom Hearts in this story. I don't own Olive Garden either. I do own my own character, Ashy Carter. All other names are created by other people that are far more important [and richer] than I am but have created the perfect characters for me to write about.

**Author's Note: **The last time I updated this fanfiction, I was seventeen years old and just a few weeks from graduating high school. Now I'm five days from turning nineteen and I've completed my first year of college and will enter my second in a few short weeks. I apologize for the lack of update in such a long time but I haven't given up on this story one bit! I hope you enjoy the thirteenth installment of Always There!

* * *

The waiter placed two plates on the table that Axel and Sora were currently sitting at and after asking if they needed anything else, left the two men alone to enjoy their meal.

Sora dug into his plate rather quickly for his stomach had been eating itself since the moment they had walked into the restaurant. In fact, he had actually polished off more than half of the complimentary breadsticks that the waiter had brought the men earlier. Axel had found it all rather amusing and, for the most part, had sat quietly and watched Sora devour breadstick after breadstick.

"You must have an enormous stomach, Sora," Axel commented after seeing Sora attack his plate of Chicken Alfredo.

"Mhm," Sora managed to reply between bites. After a few minutes, Sora finally began to slow down his crazed eating and attempted to compose himself as more of a gentleman for the remainder of the meal.

Axel ate his food rather slowly the entire time, his heart silently aching inside him. He felt at a complete loss from what had happened earlier. Although he had not told Sora about the results of his phone call, he had tried his best to make himself appear to be okay. He wondered if Sora could tell that deep down Axel was a complete wreck.

"Well?" Sora said after having asked Axel a question for the second time.

"Hmm?" Axel replied, realizing that the brunette had been trying to communicate with him.

"I asked you if you enjoyed that ravioli you are eating," Sora remarked, frowning slightly at the lack of response from the older man.

Axel stared at Sora as though he had been speaking a foreign language. Before Sora could say another word, however, Axel looked down at his plate and began to speak softly, "Sora, he broke up with me."

"What?" Sora asked, bewildered by such a statement.

"Yeah, I called him and told him what I saw and he said he felt that we should take a break from one another. He told me that the person I saw him with was an old friend of his. And apparently it wasn't a man either. It was a woman he had known since he was a child. Her name is Xion and Roxas said that he needs to spend more time with her and can't keep up with both of us so he said he wanted to take a break. A break... from me, Sora."

Sora looked at Axel in shock. He could not believe what he was hearing. The seemingly perfect relationship he had observed since he became Axel's roommate was broken.

"Axel, I'm so sorry. I can't believe that happened, but perhaps there is more to it than Roxas told you?" Sora said, attempting to offer some hope to the red-headed man.

Axel sighed deeply into his plate of ravioli before looking up at Sora, his eyes blinking back tears. "I don't know anymore, Sora. I really don't."

Sora gave Axel a look of sympathy, unsure of how to heal the older man's pain. "Would you like to go for a walk?" he offered, knowing that when he himself felt down, a long walk often helped fix his mood a little.

"Sure, Sora." Axel replied softly, pulling out money to pay for the food and stopping Sora from doing the same. "Don't worry about it, I've got it."

Sora blinked at Axel's gesture and let the older man pay for his dinner before getting up and leaving the restaurant and beginning to walk alongside Axel in the small city.

* * *

Rayne dropped April off at her house before taking Riku and herself back to their own.

"Hey, Grandma, would you mind if I went over to Leon's apartment? I haven't really spoken to him in a while and I think he may need a friend right now," Riku told his grandmother.

Rayne nodded and hugged her grandson before telling him good night and heading upstairs to her room. Riku got his keys and headed out the door. In a few minutes, he was parked outside of Leon's apartment building and called Leon to let him in.

Meanwhile, Cloud had been lying on Leon's bed, stroking his back gently to help the brown-haired man relax from the misery he felt.

"Cloud, my phone is sitting on the end table beside you, I hear it ringing. Can you hand it to me?" Leon asked the blonde-haired man.

Cloud handed Leon his phone and moved so Leon could sit up and answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Leon, it's Riku. I thought you may want to talk about all the Cloud stuff so I decided to drop by. Can you let me in?"

Leon looked at Cloud and mouthed "It's Riku" before telling Riku, "Yeah, sure. I'll buzz you up. See you in a few."

Cloud kissed the brunette's cheek lightly before speaking, "Do you want me to leave?"

"Please stay. Just put some clothes on. You look wonderful to me but Riku may find you to be a little more distracting, even if he is gay," Leon remarked before he stood up, pulled on a t-shirt and jeans to make himself look more presentable.

"Riku is… what?" Cloud questioned curiously.

"Yeah, he told me a few days ago. He has a boyfriend now, actually," Leon said casually as Cloud got dressed and fixed his hair.

"Hmm, that explains a lot," Cloud said before Riku knocked on the apartment door and Leon left the bedroom and went into the living room area, and let Riku in the front door.

Cloud waited in the bedroom for a moment before moving and heading into the living room where Riku and Leon were now seated.

"Hello, Riku," Cloud said coolly.

"It's nice to see you again, Cloud," Riku greeted back.

Leon could feel the mood in the room shift immediately after Cloud's entrance. Years ago, the three men had been the best of friends. In high school, the three men were on top and were always together hanging out and sharing thousands upon thousands of laughs. The only times they weren't together were when Leon and Cloud went on their own dates. After Cloud and Leon had broken up, Riku had taken Leon's side for he had been the brown-haired man's friend first and also because he felt that Cloud would be moving on regardless because of the university change. Now that all three men were back together in the same room, Leon had no idea where Riku and Cloud stood with one another.

Before Leon could think any further about any negativity between the two other men in the room, Riku broke the momentary silence and said, "What happened to Ashy, Leon?"

The new sound of resentment towards the thought of Leon and Ashy breaking up that filled Riku's voice pricked at Leon's ears. "We, sort of, broke up," Leon replied nervously.

Riku looked at Leon and instead of replying to him, turned to Cloud with a look of hatred in his eyes. "What is wrong with you, Cloud? Couldn't you just let him be?"

"Look, Riku," Leon started to say before being cut off by Cloud.

"No, Leon. Let him speak. I deserve it." Cloud said, standing back as Riku stared at the two men in slight animosity.

"You do deserve it, Cloud. You broke an innocent girl's heart," Riku said, his voice growing softer with the last words.

"Riku, I understand how this looks, but Leon didn't love her as he did me. He was making a mistake."

"No. You made the mistake. You should have stayed at Olympus, Cloud," Riku said.

"Why do you hate me so much, Riku?" Cloud asked. "Can't you see that Leon loves me? Can't you see that he is happier that I returned? Why do you hate me so much? You've never liked me, have you?"

Riku sat still, speechless. He had never thought about it in that way, but Cloud was right. Although the three men had always stuck together in high school, Riku had mainly stuck with them because of Leon. Leon who had been his best friend since kindergarten. He always disliked Cloud because he felt Cloud had taken his best friend away from him. Leon always appeared to adore the blond-haired man over Riku in Riku's eyes.

"Riku, is that true? Do you really hate Cloud?" Leon asked, his voice a whisper.

Riku looked at the two men before nodding slowly. "I suppose I do, or well, did. I suppose I just have had a hard time realizing that you two love each other in a way that you and I could never do, Leon. I don't love you in the same way. You are my best friend, Cloud was—is," he corrected, "your lover. I guess I was always just a little jealous."

Leon gave Riku a looked of confusion, "Jealous? Did you want us to be more than friends, Riku?"

"N-no. I just didn't want our friendship to decay because of your love for Cloud. I always felt like you favored him more," Riku replied honestly.

Leon put his hand on Riku's shoulder. "Never, Riku. I love Cloud with all of my heart. But I love you too, in a different way. You are, and will always be, my best friend. You've always been there for me, Riku. How could you ever think I thought any less of you after all of these years?"

"I'm sorry, Cloud. I never meant to act so negatively towards you. I have just had a lot of trouble dealing with sharing my best friend," Riku said, smiling at the last statement.

"It's okay, Riku. Can we all just please get through these explanations and go get some food? I'm starving," Cloud remarked with a chuckle.

Leon and Riku looked at each other and then back at Cloud.

"I guess some things never change," Leon remarked to Riku.

"I guess not," Riku said.

* * *

"The first time we met was during our freshman orientation session at the university. I remember it just like it was yesterday. We were all put into little groups by the color of our papers that we randomly picked up when we first arrived on campus. I thought it was the silliest thing in the world, but it ended up being the key to finding the person I always thought completed me," Axel told Sora, reliving his first meeting with Roxas.

Sora and Axel had been walking for twenty minutes now and had shared some small bits of conversation before Axel began telling him about how much he missed Roxas. Now he was describing how he felt love at first sight for Roxas.

"Roxas was sitting in the corner of the little room that we were all placed into to do group activities and I felt myself drawn to him immediately. I thought he was the hottest guy I had ever seen in my life. He was incredibly shy but he told me later that he felt himself drawn to me too and felt that he could talk to me more easily than with anyone else. He said he had no idea why and felt that he wanted to explore our relationship more. The second day of our orientation, I asked him out to dinner. We got reservations at Marluxia's, which happened to be both of our favorite places to eat. When I went to go pick him up, I couldn't stand it any longer. I just wanted to…" Axel trailed off.

Sora turned and looked at Axel curiously, "You wanted to, what, Axel?"

Axel laughed out loud, "Let's just say we were very late for our dinner reservations."

Sora blushed, understanding what Axel was insinuating. "I'm really sorry you have to deal with this, Axel," Sora told the red-haired man.

"I just don't understand, Sora. I really thought I gave him everything he could ever desire. _Everything_. And I don't see how he could just betray me like this."

"Perhaps it's something he just needs to work out on his own? He'll realize what he's lost quickly, Axel. I just know it." Sora reassured the older man.

"I hope so, Sora. I can't stand being without him," Axel said, stopping where he was and putting his face in his hands.

Sora gently rubbed the older man's back in an attempt to soothe him. "Why don't we head back to the dorm now? I think you just need to get some rest."

Axel nodded and together they walked back to Axel's car and drove back to the dorm. When they arrived, Axel sat down on the couch in the living room area rather than going to bed. Sora sat down beside him, deciding to continue being a shoulder for Axel to lean on.

* * *

Leon, Riku, and Cloud went and got dinner while discussing all of the things that had happened with Ashy earlier that day. Riku listened intently as Leon described how Ashy had run out of his apartment.

After that, Riku told the two men about how he felt about Sora. He went on to describe his days with Sora, omitting the happenings in the parking lot for he felt those were private.

"I'm really happy for you, Riku," Leon told his best friend, Cloud nodding in agreement.

"Thanks. I really do like him. He's quite irresistible."

After they returned to Leon's apartment, Riku decided to head back to his house, feeling exhausted after their outing.

Cloud sat in Leon's living room and watched him close the door behind Riku. As soon as he heard the door click close, Cloud stood up and moved towards Leon.

Leon turned around and jumped slightly, not expecting Cloud to be standing so closely behind him.

The blonde-haired man looked the brunette up and down, his eyes lingering over Leon's lips briefly.

The brown-haired man stared into Cloud's eyes with desire as he moved his hands onto Cloud's shoulders and began to remove his jacket. Slowly the two men moved into Leon's bedroom and onto his bed shortly after. Leon's lips were wrestling against Cloud's, both men returning back to where they were earlier that day before Ashy had come into the apartment. Leon kissed Cloud along his chest delicately before resting his ear on Cloud's heart briefly.

"I love you, Leon," Cloud said, closing his eyes and enjoying the affection he was receiving from the brown-haired man.

"I love you too, Cloud," Leon said before the two men displayed their love for one another for the first time in a long time.

* * *

The next morning, Sora woke up slowly, his head pounding and his legs feeling overly stiff. His vision was blurred briefly when he opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. He was halfway lying on the couch in his dorm room and Axel was sound asleep halfway on top of him. … Halfway on top of him? Sora patted Axel's back to wake the older man.

"Axel, get up."

"Mm… Roxas, I love you…" Axel murmured, wrapping his arms around Sora's waist adoringly and nuzzling his lap.

"Wh-whoa, Axel…" Sora remarked in surprise.

Axel found Sora's pant's zipper with his teeth and slowly began to slide it down. Sora's eyes widened and he reacted quickly by slapping Axel's back as hard he could.

"Get up, Axel!" he shouted, trying to get out of the older man's grasp.

Axel's eyes opened and he realized where he was. "… I'm sorry, Sora," he said before getting off of the younger man.

Sora fixed his pants and brushed himself off, getting up off of the couch and standing in front of Axel. "You should be. I'm taken, Axel," Sora remarked, his cheeks a deep shade of crimson.

Axel grinned, "You are so adorable when you blush." Sora wrinkled his forehead with frustration and rolled his eyes, leaving Axel to go use the restroom and take a shower. Axel glanced at the clock and realized it was noon and Sora had likely left to get ready for his new job.

Bzzzzzt.

The red-haired man's phone buzzed with a text message. Axel grabbed his phone and glanced at the screen. It was Roxas.

-Do you want to go get lunch later? I miss you.

Axel stared at the message confused and decided to reply.

-Roxas? What are you doing? Why are you doing this to me?

Within moments, Roxas replied.

-I miss you, Axel. Like I said. Lunch later?

Axel sighed. Although he was completely baffled, he truly did miss Roxas as well. Deep down he wanted to let Roxas explain all of the things that had been making his heart ache and forgive him for whatever it was. He loved Roxas, after all.

-Yes. How about after 3? I have to take Sora somewhere first.

A few seconds later, Roxas replied confirming their lunch plans and Sora came out of the bathroom, showered, dressed, and ready for his first day at Marluxia's.

Sora ate a late breakfast while Axel sat in the living room silently. "Is everything, okay?" Sora questioned the older man, picking up his dishes and taking them to the sink to wash them.

"I have a lunch meeting with Roxas after I drop you off," Axel explained.

"What? How did that happen? I thought… what?" Sora replied, perplexed at Axel's words.

"He texted me and I decided to go meet him for lunch. I'm a little confused as well, actually. I think I'm going to let him talk and explain himself further."

"Good luck, Axel," Sora said, finishing washing the dishes. As soon as he turned off the sink, the phone rang.

Sora went to answer it and discovered it was Riku calling.

"Hello, Riku. How are you today?" the younger man asked the older man cheerfully.

"In need of another tutoring session and wanting to make up for that dinner date I missed yesterday," Riku replied sweetly.

"Well, thanks to my lovely mother, I have a job that I start in about an hour so I can't do anything until my first shift is over. Since it's my first day, it's shorter. I'll be done by seven. And I will definitely be hungry," Sora told the older man.

"A job? Interesting. So dinner at seven? Sounds like a plan. Oh and one last thing."

"Yes, Riku?" Sora asked.

"You need a cell phone. I want to be able to talk to you more often…" Riku trailed off.

Sora blushed and stuttered a bit before replying, "Y-yes, I suppose I do. I'll work on it and could you pick me up at Marluxia's at seven? I also need a car."

Riku chuckled and agreed to get Sora for their dinner date. The two men said their goodbyes and hung up.

"Ready for work, Sora?" Axel asked in a relaxed voice.

"Let's get this over with," Sora said, leaving with Axel and heading to Marluxia's for his first day.

* * *

Cloud stroked Leon's back adoringly with his fingertips. The sleeping brown-haired man was lying on his stomach, and Cloud had been lying beside him admiring the older man's body. He had tried to resist actually touching him as to not wake the man from his sleep, but couldn't resist for long.

Leon smiled at Cloud's touch but kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.

Cloud gently continued to run his fingertips along the curves of Leon's back, moving up and down his spine slowly.

Leon shivered slightly when Cloud ran down his spine and decided to surprise the blonde-haired man. He turned slowly onto his side to face Cloud and took his hand, interlacing his fingers with Cloud's.

Cloud smiled when Leon did this and kissed the older man's lips, moving closer to him instantly. Leon smiled into the kiss and parted his lips slowly, allowing Cloud to explore every crevice of Leon's mouth with his tongue.

After a few minutes, Leon slowly opened his eyes and broke the kiss, a smile on his face.

"Leon, can I ask you something?"

Leon nodded before beginning to kiss along the blonde's jaw line slowly.

"I have a confession to make, Leon. When I came here, it wasn't just because I missed you," Cloud began.

Leon stopped kissing the younger man and stared into Cloud's eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I, er," Cloud attempted to tell the man the truth but found trouble in forming the right words.

"You can tell me anything, Cloud," Leon reassured him.

Cloud looked at Leon and exhaled slowly, "I flunked out of college."

"Oh Cloud… how did you let that happen? You were such a good student in high school. Remember how we used to always joke that I would never make it past my first year with my awful study habits and how I'd have to call you every night and ask for help on every assignment?" Leon reminisced.

"I just lost track with everything. The truth is I never truly got over you when you broke up with me. I honestly turned down so many dates this past semester," Cloud explained.

"So what now? Are you going to try to go to a community college?" Leon inquired.

"Actually, I was thinking I could… maybe, you know, move in with you?" Cloud said, a smile forming on face.

"What? Live with me? Cloud, I mean, live here?" Leon stammered, unable to make a coherent sentence.

"I mean, why not? I could join up at this university in the spring and we could live together. It'll be like we always imagined, Leon," Cloud described.

"But, Cloud, I don't know… I love having you here, I really do, but I don't know."

Cloud frowned. "You don't know? What could possibly cause you any doubt?"

Leon sighed. "I just, don't know. I feel like everything is just coming at me so fast. Can I have some breathing room?"

"Fine. I'll let you be. I'm going to go out and visit some other people here. I may go back to my old house and see my dad at some point too. I need to explain this whole college thing to them too I suppose. I miss my dad anyway," Cloud said abruptly, getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes. "I'll see you later, Leon," Cloud said before leaving the brown-haired man's apartment.

_Why do things keep getting messed up?_ Leon wondered to himself before rolling over and pressing his face into his pillow.

* * *

Sora arrived at Marluxia's and met with the restaurant owner, Marluxia. After giving him a short introduction to working at her restaurant, Marluxia gave Sora a list of tasks including washing dishes, cleaning tables, and mopping and cleaning the restrooms. Sora sighed and got to work quickly.

"Hey New-Guy, come here," called one of Sora's co-workers.

Sora walked over to an older gentleman who had a toothpick sticking out of his mouth who worked the bar at Marluxia's.

"New Guy, I just wanted 'ter introduce myself. Name's Cid," introduced the man.

Sora shook the man's hand and said, "I'm Sora. Nice to meet you."

Cid nodded and Sora returned to his work. Occasionally he heard Cid joke with some of the customers at the bar. Every joke Sora heard that day from Cid was filled with profane yet vivid descriptions of the characters in the stories.

* * *

Meanwhile, Axel had just met with Roxas at a local pizza restaurant and now the two men were sitting at a table for two waiting for their orders.

Roxas sipped his drink as Axel observed him, waiting for the younger man to speak.

The blonde-haired man remained silent, unsure of what to say. Eventually Axel broke the silence.

"Roxas, what is going on?" Axel asked, wanting some answers to all of the torment he felt he had been receiving lately.

"I told you, Axel. My friend Xion came to visit me," Roxas said calmly.

"So you made out with her? I don't understand. What did I do wrong? Why did you want to end it?"

"I wasn't making out with her. I tried to explain to you. I didn't want to end it. I told you we should take a break. I wasn't trying to break up with you. I love you, Axel," Roxas said sincerely.

Hearing Roxas tell him he loved him pinged at Axel's heart in a painful way. He hated the way Roxas was making him feel. It was as though Axel was a puppet and Roxas was the puppet master, able to control all of Axel's actions and emotions.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Axel finally blurted out.

"I'm not doing anything, Axel. What is wrong with you? Are you okay?" Roxas inquired.

Axel stared down at the table and asked him the same question before replying to Roxas, "I don't know, Roxas. I just… I saw you with her and I thought the worst things. I thought you were through with me. I thought that everything we ever had didn't exist and I did something wrong."

Roxas looked at Axel and took his hand in his own, "Axel, why would you think that? You know we have something incredibly deep. A connection that no one else can mimic. I would never ever betray you, Axel."

Axel sighed and stroked the back of the younger man's hand gently. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I guess I was just worried. Why was Xion there anyway? We had a date that night, Roxas."

"I told you, she came to visit. I wasn't expecting her. She left before our date would have happened anyway. Axel, I'm not lying to you. I didn't do anything with her. She and I were together once, but that was many years ago and now she means nothing more to me than a friend. You are my world, Axel," Roxas told the red-haired man just as their pizza arrived.

Axel's eyes widened and he squeezed Roxas' hand in his own. "I love you, Roxas."

* * *

**Author's Note: **As I said in the beginning, I apologize for such a long delay, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please, as always, **read and leave a review**. Thank you!

I am, once again, proud to present, a GendenCo. original parody:

Sora: -runs up to, flailing his arms- Hey, Riku! ... Riku, Riku!  
Riku: -looks up from his Macho Men magazine, quickly tucking it away- ! Sora! -coughs- Yeah..?  
Sora: This parody isn't about us... -cries- Sc- Scoot over, I haven't read this month's Macho Men yet...  
Riku: ... Do you know how much I love you?

[ Meanwhile at a pizza parlor ]

Axel: So, Roxas...~ -winks- Did you hear? We're the stars of this parody.  
Roxas: ... -devours pizza- You know... -chew chew- You are my world.  
Axel: You are my universe, Roxas...~ -grins- Got. It. Memorized?  
Roxas: ... I really wouldn't go that far.  
Axel: Mm, you have a bit of sauce... -reaches over to wipe it with his thumb-  
Roxas: AWLKJERWA MINE -BITES AT, EYE TWITCH- FOOD. IS. MY. UNIVERSE.


	14. Chapter 14: The Honesty of Love

**Always There **  
The Honesty of Love

**Disclaimer: **After fourteen chapters, I still do not own any of the references or characters in this story beyond my originally created character [Ashy Carter].

**Author's Note: **This chapter was written a year ago but was delayed due to real life commitments and editing time. But alas, here it is! I will get to work on the next installment whenever life allows me time. Read and please leave a review; I love reading them and they are always appreciated!

* * *

Bzzzzzt. Bzzzzzt. Bzzzzzt.

Squall Leonhart opened his dark gray eyes and stared at the phone sitting on the end table beside his bed. Someone was calling him. Since Cloud left, Leon had been lying on his bed, going in and out of sleep and accomplishing nothing. He felt absolutely terrible. He wasn't sick, he just felt like he had been the rope in a tug of war battle for the past 24 hours.

Bzzzzzt. Bzzzzzt. Bzzz—"Hello?" Leon said as he flipped his phone open and finally answered it.

"Leon? This is Ashy. I want to talk. Can we meet somewhere?" replied the voice of Leon's former girlfriend who had recently run out of his apartment in tears after seeing Leon and Cloud making out.

Leon sat up in his bed, running his hand through his hair as he answered, "Yeah, definitely. Where do you want to meet up?"

"How about at the Port Royal in like thirty minutes?" said Ashy as though she was scheduling a business meeting rather than a heart-to-heart with her former boyfriend.

"Sounds good, I'll see you then," Leon said, ending the phone call and getting out of his bed.

_Maybe I can make things right now. Maybe we can still be friends. I hope she can forgive my stupidity._

_

* * *

_

"You did an excellent job today, Sora," Marluxia told Sora at the end of his shift. "I think you are going to be a great addition to the Marluxia's family. Welcome aboard."

Sora smiled gratefully and thanked Marluxia for her kind words before gathering his belongings and heading out of the restaurant. He saw Riku's silver car sitting in the parking lot and went over to it, knocking on the passenger window to alert Riku of his presence.

Riku grinned and unlocked the door allowing Sora to enter his vehicle.

"How was your first day?" Riku asked, pulling out of the parking lot and driving towards a nearby restaurant for the two to enjoy their previously planned dinner date.

"It was all right, I'm exhausted," Sora said truthfully.

Riku parked at a local restaurant and opened his car door and walked around and opened Sora's for him. "Well, let's relax and eat then, shall we?" Riku said, gesturing for Sora to exit the vehicle.

Sora gave Riku a thoughtful look and got out of the car, taking Riku's hand and walking with him into the restaurant. After the two men got seated in a booth in the non-smoking section of the restaurant, they sat hand in hand beside each other, looking over a single menu and trying to decide on what they wanted to eat.

"I don't feel like chicken tonight," Sora said, leaning his head against the older man's shoulder.

"Well, you decide on whatever you want, and I'll happily pay for it," Riku told the younger man. Riku was trying his best to make Sora feel comfortable and content for that was how he best liked to see the brunette.

Sora finally decided on a small salad and some ribs while Riku chose a chicken entrée. While the two men waited on their meals to arrive, Sora described his first day of work to Riku.

"And then this woman's little kid spilled her drink all over the place. I had to crawl under the table to mop it all up. It was gross. I washed my arms and legs in the sink to get the sticky soda stuff off of me," Sora explained.

Riku smiled at Sora's lively story, holding the younger man close against him as he took in every word whole-heartedly. Eventually Sora finished his story just in time for the food to arrive. Riku allowed Sora out of his grasp so the younger man could enjoy his food.

By the time Sora was done eating, there was sticky barbecue sauce all over his face. Riku stared at the younger man with a grin.

"Sora, you have a little something…" Riku began to say before leaning in and closing the distance between them.

Riku could taste the barbecue sauce on Sora's soft lips. The silver-haired man licked the younger man's lips hungrily, wanting to taste much more. Sora blushed at Riku, grabbed the napkin on the table and tried to get the barbecue sauce off of his face but Riku stopped him before he could get very far.

"Allow me," Riku said, taking the napkin out of the brown-haired man's hand and instead moving closer and lightly kissing Sora's cheek, licking the barbecue sauce off of his cheeks in the process, causing the younger man to blush a deeper shade of red.

"Riku, we're in public," Sora protested softly.

Riku could see that Sora was suddenly uncomfortable and controlled himself. "Right. I'm sorry, Sora," Riku apologized. "Why don't we go back to my house after this? My grandmother is out for the evening and you and I could spend more time together."

"Sounds like a good idea. I can help you with more calculus," replied Sora.

Riku stared at the younger man in disbelief. "Calculus? Is that all you want to do?"

"Well, not in particular, but it's a start," Sora said.

Riku sighed and paid the bill, getting out of the booth and waiting for the younger man to accompany him. This could be a long night.

* * *

Ashy Carter stood outside of Port Royal, her hands in her pockets, her brown eyes staring off into the distance adding to her very antisocial body language. After a few hours of crying, then screaming, and eventually just jogging until she completely wore herself out, she had decided that she was not going to let Leon get the best of her. She decided she needed closure and had called Leon to meet her at the Port Royal to obtain just that.

"Ashy? How're you doing?" Leon asked Ashy as he approached her.

"I'm fine, thanks," Ashy replied calmly.

"Do you want to go inside and talk?" Leon suggested, gesturing toward the entrance into the Port Royal.

"No. This shouldn't take long," Ashy told the older man.

Leon decided that apologizing, although he could never say it enough, was probably the best place to begin. "Look, Ashy. I'm truly, very sorry about what happened. I really didn't mean to end our relationship like that. I was going to tell you about Cloud, I swear, but the timing just didn't fall right."

Ashy nodded, allowing the brown-haired man to finish his apologies before speaking. "Leon, you really broke my heart. Even though we hadn't been seeing each other for a long time, I can't believe what you did to me," Ashy said, tears forming in her eyes.

"I know, and again, I'm really sorry. I don't know how I could ever fix this," Leon replied honestly.

"You can't. Don't even bother," Ashy started. "I really liked you, Leon. I thought you and I would have a great future together, but you betrayed me. I don't even think I could ever be friends with you now."

There it was, the final blow. The one thing Leon had been hoping to avoid and Ashy had just settled it for the two of them before he could even attempt to resolve it. Leon stood speechless in front of the girl he had fallen for so quickly for just a few weeks ago. Now he would probably never speak to her again.

"Goodbye, Leon," Ashy said, walking away from the older man and leaving him in alone in front of the Port Royal.

"Goodbye, Ashy…" Leon said softly after the innocent girl. Although he had Cloud back in his life, his heart ached as though Ashy had ripped it out and stomped all over it.

* * *

Sora yawned for the tenth time since he had been in Riku's bedroom. He was truly exhausted. For the last hour he had been tutoring Riku in calculus and had been making some slow progress with the silver-haired man.

"I hate this subject so much! I don't even know why I took it," Riku had screamed earlier after getting five problems in a row wrong. Sora had somehow calmed him down and then took the time to explain each problem thoroughly before telling Riku to attempt for a second time. So far Riku had gotten each second attempt correct.

"Done! I think I understand now," Riku claimed, handing his work to the sleepy brunette.

"Looks good, Riku," Sora replied after checking over the piece of paper.

"Great. Can we stop now? My head is starting to hurt from all this stuff," Riku asked hoping the younger man would allow him to break from calculus for the evening.

Sora nodded, getting up from a beanbag he had been occupying and moving over to Riku's bed before curling up and closing his eyes. Riku moved from his desk chair over to the bed and sat down beside the adorable brunette lying in his bed. The older man stroked the younger man's back affectionately, feeling the younger man breathing slowly beneath his hand.

Sora moved towards Riku as though a magnet was pulling him closer to the silver-haired man. Riku lay back on his bed, allowing the older man to use his chest as a pillow to rest on.

"Thanks, Riku," Sora whispered sleepily before venturing off into a well-deserved slumber.

Riku sighed softly at the way the younger man always managed to pluck his heartstrings in a way that made him appreciate Sora even more.

_How did I end up this lucky?_ Riku wondered to himself before dozing off.

* * *

Leon had never felt so physically awful in his entire life, but he felt that the more he drank, the better he felt emotionally, and that's what felt more important to him. Emotional stability.

After Ashy had left him earlier, Leon had decided to enter the Port Royal and have a few drinks at the bar. Having always been one of the oldest people in his class, he had just hit the legal drinking age a month ago but had never been interested in actually using his right until now.

"Heey… man. Did anyone ever tell you that you are the best… what is it that you exactly do again?" Leon began to say in a squeaky, slurred voice to the man seated beside him at the bar.

The man was of average height with low length ash-colored hair hidden beneath an ornate bandana. The gray-haired man, who was used to drinking and knew how far to go before he usually quit unlike Leon, glanced at the brown-haired man and replied kindly, "Buddy, I think you need to stop. Do you want me to call you a cab?"

Leon stared at the man as though the man had spoken complete gibberish to him before given the man a few pats on the head and putting up one of his hands attempting to make an "okay" sign. "You are just a-b-c, with me!" Leon said, his attempts at telling the man he liked him failing miserably.

"Seriously, friend, I think you need to get home. I don't know you, but I know you wouldn't want to be wandering around in the mental state you are in right now," the man said from experience.

"Are y-you calling me… a men—tale?" Leon said, his lowering lip jutting out into a pout. "I'm not a "men—tale"," Leon said, air-quoting the last word. "M-My mommy loves me. She said I'mma going to be the coolest person ever!" Leon nonsensically tried to defend himself, slamming one of his glasses down on the counter to add an emphasis to his words.

The man sighed and stood up, having dealt with people in Leon's state several times in the past. "Look, can you tell me where you live?"

A goofy grin appeared on Leon's face. "Y-You think I'm sexy, d-don't you."

The man gave Leon a perplexed look. After dealing with drunk men for years, he had never once gotten the response Leon had just given him. The man decided that Leon was worse off than he originally expected.

"D-don't you?" Leon said before belching atrociously into the man's face.

Before the man could reply, Leon fell off of his bar stool and face first onto the ground. The man immediately got down to his side and tried to help him up.

"Are you okay, buddy?"

Leon stared deeply into the man's eyes, struggling to speak briefly before answering the question he thought the man just asked him. "Y-Yes… I want a c-cookie. GET ME A COOKIE!" Leon said, flailing his arms before crossing his arms over his chest like a child.

"We can get you a cookie if you'll tell me where you live," the man said, trying to calm the guy.

Leon stroked the man's cheek before leaning in close and asking, "… did it hurt?"

The man was now more confused than ever before. The brunet was one of the worst drunk men he had ever dealt with in his entire life. "Did what hurt?" the man decided to ask and play along to avoid any other tantrums the brunette might cause.

"When you f-fellllll…" Leon whined.

"Look, buddy, _you're_ the one who fell. I'm trying to help you, but I can't unless you tell me where you live."

Leon closed the distance between he and the strange man before, kissing him as though he were someone he had been in love with for a long time.

The man pushed Leon off of him and gave him an angry look. "The hell is wrong with you, buddy? I know you're drunk off your ass but what the hell?"

Suddenly Leon began to cry, grabbing onto the man for support. The man stood still for a second before resting a hand on Leon's back and rubbing it comfortingly.

"Hey buddy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you…" the man apologized, realizing the brunet was probably too drunk to realize what he had just done.

"Y-you r-really mean t-that?" Leon said, looking up at the man admiringly.

"Yeah, buddy. I do," the man told him.

"S-so… you still l-love me?" Leon said happily, his jaw dropping giving him a more idiotic appearance.

Before the man could do anything else, he felt something move against him. Something vibrating in fact. Leon's cell phone was ringing.

"Whaat are you doooing, maaaan?" Leon asked the man thinking that he was the cause for the feeling against his side now.

The man reached into Leon's jacket pocket and pulled out the cause of the vibration, flipping it open and taking the call. "Hey friend, this is Locke Cole, I was wondering if you could help me out. Your friend decided to go to a bar tonight and really drunk off his—whoa there, buddy!"

Leon had been stroking Locke's knee affectionately and had slowly moved his hand up Locke's leg to a place that caused the man to protest. When Locke interrupted his words to pull Leon's hand off of his leg, Leon just gave him a toothy grin and leaned against his shoulder, now nuzzling his neck as the man attempted to gain as much composure as he could and continue the phone call.

"Hello?" Cloud said on the other end of the line, wondering what had cut the man off. "Leon went to a bar?"

"Leon is it? That helps. Yeah, he's at the Port Royal and he's really drunk. Could you come get him or tell me where he lives so I can get him a taxi home? He's really out of it right now," Locke told Cloud.

"Yeah. I'll head over there right now," Cloud said, shutting the phone off before grabbing his keys and running outside to his car.

In about ten minutes, Cloud had entered Port Royal and was now trying to find the brown-haired man. It didn't take long for Leon had decided to he wanted to dance on one of the tables and was causing a small crowd to form around him, cheering him on as he made a complete fool of himself.

"Leon! Get off the table!" Cloud yelled at the older man, moving into the crowd.

Leon stuck his tongue out at the blond-haired man and jumped off the table, beginning to run around the bar like a little child in a playground. Instead of chasing after the brunette, Cloud went up to Locke and decided to take a different approach. After Locke explained what had been going on, Cloud explained his plan to him and Locke agreed to help.

Leon had been running but realized after a few minutes that Cloud had not followed him when he saw the blond standing at the bar, flirting with the bartender. … Flirting with the bartender?

Cloud winked at the bartender who was playing along with Cloud's idea after Cloud had explained it to him. The blond-haired man knew that a fast key to getting Leon's attention was through jealousy.

Just as Cloud was running his finger suggestively along Locke's chest, Leon ran over to him and slapped Cloud hard in the face. "How c-could you?"

Cloud saw the pained look in Leon's eyes and pulled the older man tightly into a hug. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was betraying you. I was just trying to get your attention. I need to get you home now, Leon."

Leon pounded his fists against the blonde-haired man's chest in protest. "No! I'm noot goingg with yoou. I'm staying heeere! … With him!" Leon exclaimed, pointing at Locke and wrestling out of Cloud's grasp.

Locke took a hold of Leon and together the two men escorted Leon out of the Port Royal.

"Thank you, Locke. I appreciate your help and when Leon is sober again, he will too," Cloud told the gray-haired man.

"Happy to help, buddy," Locke told the blonde-haired man.

Leon frowned and tried to run away from the two men, but Locke and Cloud held tightly onto his upper body. Eventually the men had wrestled Leon into Cloud's backseat. Cloud thanked Locke again and then got into his car and drove Leon to his apartment. During the entire ride, Leon tried to distract Cloud but couldn't get past his seatbelt because he didn't understand how it worked.

"Where are you taking meee!" Leon shouted before proceeding to bang on the car window and shouting "Help! Help!"

Cloud ignored Leon and once they got to the older man's apartment, helped get Leon out of the car and struggled with him into the building.

The more drunk-Leon was forced around by Cloud, the more he liked him. Soon enough, Leon had warmed up to Cloud and in a matter of minutes; it would be Cloud who would be trying to push Leon _off_ of him.

"I like yooooou. You cuuuuuute," Leon cooed at the blonde.

Cloud grinned and kissed Leon lightly on his cheek. "You're cute too but I think you need to drink some water and sit down on the couch," Cloud told the older man once he had wrestled him into the living room..

"Only if yooooou… sit with meee," Leon told Cloud.

Cloud obeyed the older man's request and sat down with him. Before he could say anything to Leon, Leon was forcing his lips roughly against the blond-haired man's.

"Hmrph—Le—on…" Cloud attempted to object. As much as he wanted to do things with Leon, he felt it would be wrong with the brunet in his current state.

Leon continued to struggle with Cloud before pulling back and putting his hand on his mouth, his eyes widening. Leon ran into the kitchen and threw up in the trash can.

* * *

Riku felt pressure, pressure against his lips, warm pressure, warm and gentle pressure. Riku suddenly opened his eyes to see Sora as the cause of the delicate feeling against his lips. Immediately Riku wrapped his arms around the brunet and kissed him happily in return. After a few moments of this, the two men pulled back from each other, a smile on each of their faces.

"You are really cute when you're asleep, Riku," Sora said, a blush creeping onto his cheeks. Sora had woken up after an odd dream involving a little black creature chasing him around with a key blade of some sort and couldn't help but notice Riku sleeping irresistibly beneath him.

Riku grinned. "You are just really cute, Sora," he said, stroking Sora's cheek gently with the back of his thumb.

Sora closed his eyes and kissed the older man again, suddenly feeling more attracted to him than ever before. The more time they spent together, the more the younger man felt drawn to Riku. It was as though Sora had truly known the silver-haired man for years rather than a few short weeks. Actually, the more Sora thought about it, Riku was really always there. He had always lived right next door to Sora. Sora just never paid much attention to his neighbors and now he was in his neighbor's house. In his neighbor's bed. Touching and being touched by his neighbor in ways that he never would have imagined a few weeks prior.

Sora stopped kissing the silver-haired man to ask him something that had just come to his attention. "Riku, did you always know I lived right next door to you?"

Before answering, Riku kissed the younger man's lips several times, wanting to do more than kiss but not without first answering the brunette's question.

"Honestly, not really. I knew that there was a woman and her son who lived next door. I just never knew her son was my age… or incredibly cute," Riku replied honestly before kissing Sora yet again, sliding his hands beneath Sora's shirt and feeling the blue-eyed man's warm skin against his hands.

Sora shivered slightly at Riku's touch but enjoyed it too much to complain and responded by tugging at Riku's shirt.

The silver-haired man pulled the brunette's shirt off of him before kissing his lips, neck, and chest delicately and lovingly. Sora's heart rate quickened, his eyes closing as Riku moved back up to nip at his neck further.

"Sora, I don't want to stop loving you," Riku whispered against Sora's neck before pulling his own shirt off so that he could feel his bare skin touch Sora's more. Although the two men had fallen together once before, they had not shared emotions as strong as those they were sharing together at that very moment.

"Then don't," Sora told the older man, taking his hands and sliding them down to his own waistband. As tired as Sora was a few hours prior, he was lively and energetic now. He desired everything Riku wanted to give to him, his touch, lips, and body moving against his own.

Riku moved on top of Sora. Sora pulled the older man as close to him as possible, kissing his lips fervently and wanting as much of Riku's touch as possible. What had turned into an innocent wake up kiss fueled by the attraction of one man to the other was now turning into a complete display of absolute love, and neither man was protesting this love.

Afterwards, Sora's head rested gently in the curve of Riku's arm. Riku kissed Sora's forehead lightly before laying back and staring at the ceiling, his heart rate almost to normal again. The two men had just engaged in releasing their heavy emotions for one another in a positive way. Although Sora had felt energetic a few minutes ago, he was definitely exhausted once more and ready to sleep yet again. As Riku's heart rate slowed back down it served as a lulling sound for Sora to fall asleep to. It was as though the myths of the sandman had been true and sleeping sand had been sprinkled over them, the two men fell asleep against each other.

**

* * *

Author's Note**:I know, I left out Axel and Roxas, but don't worry! They will definitely be back in the next installment! I hope you enjoyed this installment and as always, read and review!

As usual, a GendenCo. original production:

Riku: Hey Sora, let's hang out.  
Sora: Oh… sorry, Riku, I have to work on a paper.  
Riku: Want me to help?  
Sora: No, no, I wouldn't get any work done.  
Riku: No. You will. Don't worry, I promise.  
[The Next Morning]  
Sora: OHMYGOD! I DIDN'T FINISH MY PAPER AND I MISSED CLASS.  
Riku: … so you can stay over again tonight? 3


End file.
